s. By 2006, 30% of all mortgages went to people who wouldn't have otherwise qualified and who simply couldni¿½t afford the loans (The financial mess: How we got here). Banks and mortgage brokers were paid large fees to originate and service mortgages and didni¿½t really care if they were likely to default because they sold these mortgages to others (Crotty, 2008). Equally unaccountable investment banks packaged these questionable mortgages into mortgage-backed securities that were then sold to banks, hedge funds, pension funds and insurance companies around the world (Crotty, 2008). As easy access to lending drove house prices up, many Americans thought that prices would continue to rise and invested in houses they simply couldni¿½t afford because they were greedy as well. As everyone now knows, the bubble burst as high prices led to oversupply, which eventually led to a collapse in the housing market (Baker, 2008).
             But, there are no worries due to the current economic meltdown. After all, our friend Gekko explains, i¿½It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero su
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