Greed and Stupidity

Who is at the root of the "Sub-Prime" mortgage fiasco? The way I see it, there are only two entities to share direct blame: greedy mortgage brokers and stupid home buyers!
- The first party - mortgage brokers, (fortunately not all of them), driven by greed and real estate bubble, would not be stoped by such a "minor formality" as income verification and other qualifying criteria of the potential home buyers, they were happy to "manufacture" mortgage applications to make anyone alive (one and only non-negotiable condition), look as good as necessary to get the mortgage money. There was no thoughts about the consequences to them, the reputation of the industry or the the realistic ability of the home buyer to carry the mortgage payments.
-The second party - home buyers, blinded by the rush to grab a property regardless of the price, without any comprehension of the structure of the Adjustable Rate Mortgages, focusing only on their ability to make monthly payments at the quoted low teaser rate, grateful to the crooked mortgage "consultants" for their "ingenious" ability to get them through the settlement and into their new acquisition.
- While the first party should be prosecuted to the full extend for the fraud and violations of many state and federal laws, how do the former owners of the foreclosed homes can be protected and can they be protected from financial ruins?
- I say: you can not protect individuals from their own stupidity! Regardless of how well meaning the politicians may be, regardless of how many laws they enact to protect the "consumer" there are the infinite ways for those that are careless, stupid or greedy to harm themselves in some way or another. Hopefully, some of those unfortunate that lost their home will learn and make better in the future. May be some of them will make a modest investment in the hand held calculator and learn to read the small ( and not so small) print.
- While my hart goes out to each and everyone of them, my common sense tells me that there is no use to legislate new laws, because morality, honesty, integrity, common sense and compassion can not be legislated!