re: Who/what entity would you say is most to blame for the 2007-2009 housing crisis/recession?

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Bill Clinton - in 1999 we repealed Glass Steagall which separated banks and investment banks.

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Clinton definitely at fault for the Community Reinvestment Act but he tag teamed with Republicans in Congress on the repeal of Glass Steagall. I believe that was pushed more by the right side of the aisle and he went along with it.

Plenty blame to go around.

Economies are complex creatures until somebody needs to place blame on a downturn or crash.

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I mean it begins with the banks and then probably goes to the Fed

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No. It started with Democrats I’m Congress. Specifically this idiot, Berney Franks

Can't link it but go look on youtube for Barney Frank and many other democrat appearances on the committee discussing it at the time. I believe, at that time, Bush warned our government of the upcoming problem.

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Can't link it but go look on youtube for Barney Frank and many other democrat appearances on the committee discussing it at the time. I believe, at that time, Bush warned our government of the upcoming problem.

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Bush did not warn the government. The person who warned everyone was Congressman Richard Baker from Baton Rouge. He knew what they had created--Bush was an idiot who turned a blind eye to it.

There's a lot of blame to go around but ultimately, after the banks were deregulated, they found they could make a bunch of money on mortgage backed securities, especially those that were junk. Then that prompted them to go out and issue more and more of the subprime mortgages and bundle them up and sell and it just all came to a head when time ran out.

At the investment firm in 1994 we saw what was happening with the loan industry and how they were changing the rules because "racism". Several agents predicted a ten year bust, it took 14, as the bad loans and defaults piled up and were eventually pushed off to the feds to guarantee.

Everyone in DC knew what was happening, but much like covid, there was a lot of money to be made so they either went along or turned a blind eye.

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Clinton and his policies that set the entire bubble in motion.

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Nope.

It was not Clinton, Frank, the Democrats, or government in general.

It was human greed and failed wisdom. The prime players were banks, hedge funds, investment houses, ratings agencies, homeowners, investors, and insurance companies.

Understanding the Subprime Meltdown
Following the tech bubble and the economic trauma that followed the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, the Federal Reserve stimulated the struggling U.S. economy by cutting interest rates to historically low levels. As a result, economic growth in the U.S. began to rise. A booming economy led to increased demand for homes and subsequently, mortgages. However, the housing boom that ensued also led to record levels of homeownership in the U.S. As a result, banks and mortgage companies had difficulty finding new homebuyers.

Lending Standards
Some lenders extended mortgages to those who couldn't otherwise qualify to capitalize on the home-buying frenzy. These homebuyers weren't approved for traditional loans because of weak credit histories or other disqualifying credit measures. These loans are called subprime loans. Subprime loans are loans made to borrowers with lower credit scores than what is typically required for traditional loans. Subprime borrowers have often been turned down by traditional lenders. As a result, subprime loans that are granted to these borrowers usually have higher interest rates than other mortgages.

During the early-to-mid 2000s, the lending standards for some lenders became so relaxed; it sparked the creation of the NINJA loan: "no income, no job, no asset—no problem." Investment firms were eager to buy these loans and repackage them as mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) and other structured credit products. A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is an investment similar to a fund that contains a basket home loans that pays a periodic interest rate. These securities were bought from the banks that issued them and sold to investors in the U.S. and internationally.

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Barney Frank, pushing for "affordable homes for all" while in a intimate relationship with Fannie Mae SVP...

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Frank and I think Dodd both had also gotten a lot of campaign money from Fannie Mae types before all of this, and then they got to sponsor the bill for the “fix”.

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Everybody blames the banks in every single movie or documentary I've ever read on the matter. I've got to say that I think the US government holds most of the blame, in my opinion.

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For a couple of years prior to that, people in the investment business were getting warnings about sub-prime loans.

When the housing bubble popped, many of those houses were upside down on their loans.