American elites and you and me ... and mass idiocy

Remember that I have said several times in Sententiae that virtually all American elites, business, military, political and education, have failed America during the Bush years (not entirely Bush's fault, but still). If I needed any proof of this vast overgeneralization, here it is:

The housing fiasco.

Here's David Brooke's opinion - he's more or less a conservative:

Who’s not to blame? The mortgage brokers were out of control. Regulators were asleep. Home buyers thought they were entitled to Corian counters and a two-story great room. Everybody from Norwegian town elders to financial geniuses decided that house prices would always go up. This was an episode of mass idiocy.

And Megan McCardle of Atlantic.com has this:

Before we enter into the orgy of blame, I'd suggest that that someone was everyone, almost. Crazy Asian people who thought America was some sort of Miracle Market sent us more money than we needed for investment, inflating an asset price bubble. The Federal Reserve, complacent after more than twenty years of tame inflation, added a little kerosene to an already blazing fire. Silly people decided that real estate prices would continue rocketing upwards forever, and took on ridiculous mortgages that they had no reasonable hope of paying off. Idiot bankers thought that their enormous brains, raffish good looks, and advanced computer models had enabled them to conquer risk.

I rest my case.