Greed. Too much outsourcing(although that has certainly benefited us in India).there are plenty of natural resources and intrinsic honesty amongst the Americans but sometimes I feel ( I am not being insulting just voicing my opinion) you don't really think till the last move. If you will get a bit of short term and mid term advantage from a policy you close your eyes to the larger picture and follow that policy. Walk into any store and tell me, is it possible to find any thing with the label "Made with pride in the USA" anymore? Another aspect is the bit of arrogance that "America knows best" and the world MUST tow its line. That is your biggest downfall.See the mess you are in wherever you have sent the US troops. A bit of humility, a bit more of self reliance and it will be a different scenario. This is my honest opinion as a person looking in from outside.

Derailing the Deruglation Express is my offering. In 1906, Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" exposed the horrors of "rat sausages" being served up by the American meat packing industry. The book so nauseated Americans that it lead to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act that same year. Ronald Reagan said, "Government is not the solution to the problem, government IS the problem." Following this mantra, we have been on a 28 year run of deregulation. The Bush Administration put the head of the National Food Processor's Association in charge of the FDA. We've cut the number of food inspection officers by 90% since the 1970s. Now, most inspection is done by private contractors hired by the processors. So we're back to nearly where we were 103 years ago, trusting for-profit industries to police themselves rather than simply maximize profits. How's that working? Look at how many food safety disasters we have had in recent years. Maybe it's time to admit that government isn't ALWAYS the problem. Sometimes, the Bernie Madoff's of the world are the problem, and government has to catch them. When will we realize that privatization is NOT the answer to every question?

Greed. The greed of homebuyers buying more than they can afford, the greed of mortgage companies selling the loans to people they know couldn't afford it, the greed of investment bankers diluting the underlying securities.

Hubris. The underlying notion that doing the same thing again will somehow not allow things to occur again. Deregulation, Free-markets, quashing safety regulations, destroying worker's rights, outsourcing jobs, and ignoring the law with impunity.

I tend to agree with much of what others have said here, but would like to add that it is a fine line that is walked in deciding "credit worthiness" and credit equality. Am I the only one who finds it odd that someone with no job, and mounting debt may get a credit card before someone who has a job? Well that is the scenario with credit cards being issued to college students. Out of 5 college students, 1 may actually use a credit card properly. This is not to say college students should not have credit cards. I can get as much credit as I want, and I don't have a regular income. It is not so much about deregulation as much as it is trying to paint everyone with the same brush - not because they should have credit, but because money can be made on them. I graduated from HS in 1968. My husband graduated in 1976. The differences in curriculum in those 6 years is large - but then remember that there were not always "credit cards" - Visa was founded in 1978. Before creidt cards, there were charge cards - like American Express and Diners Club. Yes, you could charge something, but you were expected to pay balance on receipt of statement. Revolving credit is a fairly recent thing. Is it the consumers fault that they do not always understand that getting credit is a service provided to them by a corporation? And a corporation will assume that you will pay for that service. A favorite example: a guy buys and finances a car. He returns the car when he can't make the payments. He is surprised that although he returned the car, he still owes money.... When are we (and I mean a collective WE) going to teach our kids about money and financing and credit and how a checking account works????? Tell me how many people learned these things from their parents???

Crooks. (financial amateur ideology infiltrated legit business)

One word "GREED"

Greed is the only ideological error or otherwise that has us in another Great Depression

Clinton. I don't remember the bill, but he passed a law which practically forced banks to give out subprime loans. Now, the economy doesn't react quickly. So, over the past few years, the United States has found a housing bubble due to clinton. The idology that everybody deserves the best is wrong.