All the Bank's Fault?

Recently, while visiting Madrid, as part of a European tour including Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Spain, Warren Buffet blamed the banks for the credit crisis.

"The banks exposed themselves too much, they took on too much risk .... It's their fault. There's no need to blame anyone else",

Warren Buffet went on to say he didn't think conditions would continue to worsen in the financial markets, only general conditions in the business world and that he had no idea when an upturn would occur.

"I don't think the situation will get worse in financial markets. General conditions in the business world will get worse, but it will only last a while",

Keeping in mind, Warren Buffet may know a little more than me when it comes to the world of finance, I respectfully disagree with him. Yes, the banks are at fault but they are not the only ones at fault...far from it.

There is plenty of blame to go around including we, the American people. We let things get out of hand perceiving reality through the prism of deliberate ignorance and greed allowing politicians to gloss over the harshness of what exists objectively and in fact.

As long as we're (my loved ones and I) doing OK, we blind ourselves to those Americans who having very little to begin with and who must adapt to getting by with less and less as we not only permit but champion legislation created, amended and destroyed over the last 30 years that we thought mistakingly would line our pockets. However, now that we may be facing the grim truth we only thought applied to others, we start to tune in and find out what's going on.