Skip - I'd suggest that the person writing a mortgage who signs the customer's name to a falsified income statement to get them a mortgage that no one would agree to after the first/second rate adjustment, is indeed evil.
Elizabeth - one would need to understand enough about the loan they are getting to at least ask the question "what will my payment be if rates go up/stay the same".
I think we can agree that the classic 20% down, 30yr fixed, 28/36 (i.e. mortgage is 26% of income max, and total debt service 36%, max) mortgage would never have created this mess. People lose jobs, dual incomers turn to single earners, that's natural, and can almost be predicted (with a large enough pool of loans), but the classic lending would not have created the bubble as so many buyers came into the market and suply/demand got out of whack.
Lastly I offer