That's true, but it's only one part of the problem. There were also:

(2) Fannie and Freddie, promising to buy the bad loans so the banks wouldn't have to carry them;
(3) A whole new industry of fly-by-night loan brokers, writing applications with lies on them, then selling the loans to Fannie and Freddie; and
(4) Firms such as AIG and Lehman writing large quantities of "credit default swaps" (insurance policies on loans) without keeping enough cash that they could pay claims on the policies when they came due.

I agree that problems (1) and (2) were the fault of government interference, and way too much of it. But (3) was opportunistic crooks, and (4), in my opinion, is a result of *too little* government regulation. If "credit default swaps" counted as insurance for the purpose of insurance regulation, (4) could not have happened. I have held an insurance agent's license myself, and that is one thing the states get mostly right. (They do overregulate the kinds of insurance that can be offered, and sometimes the price; but the regulations that require insurers to be able to pay claims, and to avoid creating conflicts of interest, have stopped a lot of shenanigans that needed to be stopped.)

Good point and good supporting article

I heard on the news that Boston did break the record Sunday with a few inches. Today looks to be nearly 70 outside and then they temps drop thru Sat. Hopefully we can get together again with our other friend in the in the next few months. This week is busy for me.