” Notoriously lax and understaffed, the SEC did nothing to limit investment banks that bundled, pitched, and puffed non-prime mortgages as the raters cheered.”
I think the above line from the article, substantiates what you are saying. The sub-prime loans were the largest part of the problem. The author seems to want to gloss it over. It was still a quite informative article, fingering a large number of crooks in all administrations.
Savvy investors knew Madoff was cooking the books. Greedy ones took the bait. That is the market. Losers pay (except when you can get a govt. bailout).
People need to attend more carnivals and get exposed to the huckster's pitch. We are becoming a nation of protect-me sheep.
What if there was no SEC who would we blame then? How about ourselves.
Nope not enough money in those loans to justify the trillions that are being expended to save the banks.