Reply #3: Bonuses didn't cause the crisis

[Citizen Number 9]

There's no doubt that the bonuses paid out are over the top, but this did not cause the financial crisis.

The financial crisis was caused at the front end by lax monetary policy which allowed people to borrow too easily and ran up the values of residential real estate.

The Bush Administration couldn't bring themselves to rein things in because they were worried about public perception during a war.

In short, just about everyone participated in the run up that led to the crash.