It was gov't intervention of the mortgage industry which distorted the investment industry in ways that gov't leaders couldn't anticipate that caused the crash. Both parties were responsible for the economic collapse but liberals want to believe it was all republican policies that brought the collapse on which is incorrect. One reason the USSR collapsed is because an economy is too complicated for agencies to run and capitalism has every individual decide what is important to them and through their buying they drive the direction of the economy. We need less gov't intervention and more monitoring that competition is strong enough to keep markets efficient.