Plenty of Mortgage Blame to Go Around

On the eve of a holiday that celebrates the best in human nature, it's worth pausing to reflect that humans have spent the past 2,000 years struggling to live up to these lofty standards of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Is the Golden Rule suspended when it comes to money and investing and wealth? Surely, you'll answer with a resounding no. But that is not the way we behave. Perhaps because when it comes to financial decisions, human nature is ruled by two powerful emotions: fear and greed.

As economic events have recently displayed, those two powerful emotions can overcome both the good sense and the moral compass of even the most sophisticated, intelligent and responsible people.

How else can you explain the mortgage mess? At every level, greed held sway over the judgment, principles, and intellect of ordinary, moral people: ...