So John Hussman, here:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel explained the entire situation in five words: "Liability and control belong together." This is a profound phrase, because it also summarizes how the U.S. got into the housing crisis - the government deregulated the banking system and abdicated proper control, while still assuming the liability through deposit insurance and other government backstops. Liability without control leads to disaster.
The control was abandoned in November 1999 with the adoption of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
Nine years later, kaboom.
