Who or What is Responsible?

Yes they did; on the personal level, they knew it was wrong. That there were greater consequences doesn't absolve them of their unethical behavior.

That's like saying the holocaust was okay, because a small group didn't kill the seven million Jews.

This is a 2006 attempt by the undersigned senators to take preventative measures to forestall the collapse that was obviously looming even in May, 2006. The proposed bill never made it out of committee however due to lack of support of I believe all Democrats and enough Republicans that passage would have been impossible. Partisanship, fear of stifling a good economy, and outside pressures took precedence over their best judgment.

Good try, Fox, but no cupie doll: You see, Bush tried it with the republican congress and failed:

CI there was still a Republican Congress in May 2006 too. But there were insufficient votes to pass any corrective legislation. That is the point. Congress refused to deal with it. And that makes Congress responsible along with those who irresponsibly took advantage of the situation. President Bush tried without success. These Senators tried without success. Let's at least give credit to those who saw the problem and tried to do something whether or not they tried hard enough or didn't do enough.

And let's look askance at those who either didn't care or who were afraid to act.

Frankly, your myopia gets tiresome and boring.

Not everyone. Thanks to stricter regulation, we haven't had a single bank go under. Non bank lenders have had difficulty in obtaining credit due to the credit squeeze. The government's response to that has been to make about $10 billion credit available to them, for investment in triple A rated mortgages, but there hasn't been any handout or government purchase of "toxic debt" in order to make financial institution's balance sheets look better. Our major banks are have taken a hit, but they're well capitalised and not in any danger of going under. Our country has also got zero debt. Australia is going to experience an economic slowdown, as will everyone else. But we're not going to experience anything like the pain that the US will thanks to the clowns in government and business that dug you into this hole.

If I ever wanted to change my permanent residence, I think Australia would be where I would go. But it's a big place. I wonder what place in Australia would be the most similar to New Hampshire?

By "laissez faire", I assume you mean "free market" ?
They have not existed since Wilson allowed the Federal Reserve
to have power.