Here we present the results of the Jan. 5 ASI E-News survey.

Ben Bernanke blames the collapse of the housing market on lax regulation, not the failure of the Fed's monetary policy. Since regulation also falls under the Fed's purview, this may be a moot point, but which do you think was the main cause?

Regulation failure: 55%
Monetary policy failure: 28.3%
Other: 16.7%

Comments:

“The Fed, by keeping interest rates low, created the housing bubble. Also, forcing banks to loan to those who were not qualified was part of the problem.”

“I think it was lax regulation, lax monetary policy, and greedy people — from homebuyers all the way up to the top of banking/investing firms.”

“You can't allow people with no money, no job, no income, and no assets to buy a home with no money down, interest only payments, and credit card-type terms. You are basically saying, `Here, have a free house.’ When houses become free, they sell fast (the price doesn't matter) and the market becomes flooded with these free houses (in all price ranges). Eventually, the loans — after having been sold or traded — go into default, for obvious reasons. If you are still wondering why the value of your home is down, look no further than Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, who enabled Fannie and Freddie to create this mess.”

“Every administration for the last 30 years has continued to relax banking regulations. That is the problem.”

“Falsification of loan documents, greed and stupidity are largely to blame.”