Governor Elliot Spitzer predicted the current economic crisis in an op-ed piece written in February 2008!
"When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners, the Bush administration will not be judged favorably. The tale is still unfolding, but when the dust settles, it will be judged as a willing accomplice to the lenders who went to any lengths in their quest for profits. So willing, in fact, that it used the power of the federal government in an unprecedented assault on state legislatures, as well as on state attorneys general and anyone else on the side of consumers."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
(My take on one of the causes of this crisis, is that Lenders suckered average folks into mortgages which they could afford at first, then Lenders raised their monthly rate to an amount they could no longer afford! Because there were no Regulations or Oversight, those houses were then foreclosed on and then re-sold again to some other unsuspecting victim, until the whole deck of cards has collapsed. What is compelling, is that before the total collapse, CEO's pay themselves millions, sometimes billions as compensation pay for the said collapse!)
For instance, "In 2007, Wall Street's five biggest firms-- Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley - paid a record $39 billion in bonuses to themselves." From ABC's Political Punch