Lack of prudence, and scruples
I was turned down on the first house I wanted to buy. We had the minimum down payment, our debts were manageable, but at the mortgage meeting the loan guy explained why they wouldn't thje loan. Sure we could make the payments, yed my income was at the legal level, but we would be living on next to nothing. They said we would be able to get a loan from another source easily enough, but give it some serious thought. We bought our second choice, were able to buy a couple of new cars later, I could have my boats,we could vacation, and it was less than a block from a great parochial school. We applied for the mortgage from the same bank, and we paid it off. Of course in those days bankers had ethics. They kept the mortgage, they used to do that in the old days, not sell it to another party the next day. That bank is still in businesss, not part of a conglomerate.
It was and will be the american dream
Thats where honest bankers needede to come up front, and didn't. Its basic, envy is what drives the economy. I want makes the registers ring. And advertising is the means of creating envy[one of the deadly sins]. Not all humans are born smart or geniuses, never were, never will be. Supposedly thyere were commandments to protect the addle brained to some extent, for some reason they just didn't take hold.For preditors to thrive, you have to have prey.