An excerpt from a new collection of essays, Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity, edited by Michael Lewis the author of Liar's Poker. He contributes several essays to the book, including the one here, “The People’s Panic.”
One difference between previous financial panics and the real estate and subprime-mortgage collapse is the sheer number of people involved. “No money down” was an invitation for people far away from Wall Street to take Wall Street-like risks.
