A friend of mine asked whether the government is to blame for this:
Assuming the answer is "yes", what is one single best source that explains how? Best in the sense that it's concise and to the point, addressing this specific question (so, don't recommend reading all of Human Action, please). Can be an article, excerpt from a book, or a video/audio of a lecture.
I recall Bob Murphy having a lecture that talked about this, but I can't find it now.
Of course it is. How many of those now massive banks would have existed after 2008 had the government not propped them up?
Off of the top of my head, there was a rush in 2008 to buy banks to attain bank status in order to be bailed out by the Fed/gov.
To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process. Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!" Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."