Who's to Blame? Readers Say Congress

Who's to blame for the economy? TheStreet.com readers have spoken: It's Congress, in a landslide.

Each day last week, a different writer from TheStreet.com made the case for why one of five prime culprits -- Congress, the banks, irresponsible home buyers, the Federal Reserve or the rating agencies -- is most to blame for the credit crisis and ensuing economic meltdown.

We ran a poll alongside the stories last week, allowing readers to have their say. More than 10,000 weighed in between Monday and Sunday. Congress, with 49% of the vote, easily outpaced the banks, with 22%.

Readers bought reporter Lauren Tara LaCapra's argument that lawmakers and their regulatory agencies backed policies they now bash as economically flawed, contributing to the downfall of government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE).

Politicians also reaped donations from the financial firms who profited mightily from those policies, the same firms that are now receiving hundreds of billions in taxpayer-supported aid.

Big national and Wall Street banks like Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) did not completely escape blame. Its closest competitor was irresponsible home buyers, with 13% of the vote.

Click below to see the complete results:

Who is most responsible for the credit crisis and the recession?
	Banks Congress Federal Reserve Ratings agencies Irresponsible home buyers

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints