[Danzig]

i think heloc's have had more affect than anything. people were living on a line of credit that dried up immediately when the housing bubble burst. then they were really underwater and unable to pay their debts, since they no longer had equity-that probably didn't really exist to begin with. for many, a house payment is lower than rent, so i don't really buy that people couldn't make their payments. no bank is going to loan you if you don't have the income it would take.
between arm's and heloc, people had just bitten off more than they could chew. then there were banks, such as the one listed above, who sold toxic mortgages and then made more money banking on that loss. what did that do to the duped buyers who thought they were getting something they weren't?

as for naming names of pols, that's a waste of time. the majority of both parties backed getting rid of those rules that were there for a reason. they were bought and paid for, or just stupid.