Just before Jimmy's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) came the Equal Credit Opportunity Act signed by Gerald Ford, pretaining to crediting and investing, the name says it all. Then directly leading to what's behind the economic crisis facing our nation right now, is not the banks. It all started in Carter's administration when he readily signed the Community Reinvestment Act in 1977. This act FORCED banks to lower standards for making riskier loans to risky investors. Then came in Bill Clinton's administration that further degraded the banks standards, which allowed for even more risky investments. It just so happens that the bulk speculating came out across on the housing market.