Dex,
I was trying to imply that the risks these people incurred by their speculative business investments were relatively modest, to the point that some would scorn to even call them "risks". Every day people venture their lives in order to get to the United States - penniless, homeless, and jobless. In Darfur, among other places, people are starving, and are in danger of murder or rape when the go to fetch water. Mr. Villareal is an American with what appears to be a very nice house, $200 shoes, and who does not look to be in any danger of starvation. I don't criticize him, just point out that his situation would be envied, not pitied, by the majority of people around this planet. As such, to say that the decisions that led him to this were incompehensible, destructive, or a symptom of psychosis - well that just seems like a stretch. He was not frugal, clearly. Maybe even foolish. But our economy is based on starry eyed entrepreneurs, as much if not more than on frugal people. Robert Browning wrote that "a man's reach should exceed his grasp"... which means we should expect to find a lot of people lying at the base of the tree with their butts hurting ;-).