An Inconvenient Truth--Liar Loans

Why has there been so little public discussion of the major role that lying on real estate loan applications has had in causing the sub-prime loan mess? Aren't the bad loans at the core of the financial mess? Yes, it's easier to scapegoat greedy, faceless corporations like AIG. And, they're guilty. But so is the real estate loan applicant who signed, under penalty of perjury, that the information in their loan application was true, but wasn't. After all, the application was used by their lender to approve or deny their loan. Many honest prospective borrowers won't sign a loan application as true, that they know isn't; even if it means not purchasing a home. Isn’t giving known false information to induce a lender to make a loan they otherwise would not make, a fraud? Are there no consequences? Just a taxpayer funded bailout? The loan applicant also authorizes the release of their income tax records from IRS to mortgage holder making income verification simple.