Ammunition for the Occupy Wall Street Crowd

While I read Reckless Endangerment  How Outsized Ambition, Greed and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgensen and Joshua Rosner, I got angrier with every new page. My home is worth about 25% less than what is was in 2007. I know people who cannot sell their homes even after dropping the price 40% or more. Foreclosures are a common occurrence throughout the country. The mortgage markets have tightened up that young people have a very hard time qualifying for a loan.

Morgensen writes a very readable and compelling narrative on how our Presidents (Republican and Democratic), Congress, regulatory agencies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, banks, investment companies etc. got caught up with avarice and stupidity. There are more villains in this book than the entire James Bond movie series. None of these villains have been indicted. Many are still involved in key decisioning roles in government and business.

This "Economic Armageddon" could have been mitigated, maybe even prevented. Morgensen describes how a few analysts had seen and warned about this tsunami but were ridiculed and attacked for their positions.

Excellent book. Five stars.