"So there you have it. Our housing bubble bust in a nutshell. And no, there is nothing to do now but count the losses and figure out who gets stuck with the bill. There is no easy solution to this problem. That is why asset bubbles typically end with the Kingdom bankrupt and the King being led to the gallows. This kind of thing ends empires. "

It is time to lead the "King" to the gallows.
Sounds like a Ponzi scheme to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme