It was caused by people who were more interested in turning a profit then producing a quality product. What do you think toxic assets are? They're just the financial equivalent of a netbook...3-5 years out and they start falling to pieces. The computer manufacturers are just smart enough not to guarantee them for that long!

netbooks are basic, entry-level products, much of what the banks did was basically a scam. An equivalent would be the Chinese knockoffs like this one: http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/04/cect_m188_iphon...

Financial equivalent of a price-cutter - http://awurl.com/vfFnyQimZ -

feel's really warm & fuzzy @ 1% for 5 years then you start burning up. Negative amortization is evil.