During the subprime meltdown of 2007, many mortgage brokers and LOs defended their decision to sell subprime loans saying “The lenders were the ones that provided the loans. We were only selling what we were told to sell.”  As wholesale lenders fell, the blame shifted to Wall Street. “It was Wall Street’s fault for creating those toxic mortgage products.”  Now the Wall St investment bankers are failing and the blame continues to shift.  This blog post is not about who is to blame.  I’ve already blogged about blame in other places. 

This blog post is about the Milgram Experiments. For some background, read/view the following:

ABC News: Basic Instincts; The Science of Evil
VideoSift: The Original Milgram Experiment
Wikipedia: Milgram Experiment

The nature of Milgram’s experiments were challenged as being unethical because of the emotional trauma experienced by the real “subject” of the experiment . 

Reflecting on the Milgram experiments, how would you now explain the blame shifting that took place earlier in the subprime meltdown? (To some extent, it’s still taking place today.) 

How would go about obtaining consent from your mortgage lending clients before recommending experimental mortgage products?