Debt > Equity

It's been widely reported (and misreported*) that home debt exceeded home equity for the first time on record (data goes back to 1945). Home equity percentage as of December 2007 is 49.6%, and I'm sure that number will go down a lot further before things recover. Other than the pain that this is going to cause me indirectly through a weak economy, I continue to fail to understand how other people's irresponsible financial decisions are my problem.

* NPR incorrectly reported that home debt exceeded home VALUES rather than equity (I've also heard at least one investment banking "expert" who should know better make this claim), and USA Today incorrectly defined the equity percentage as home debt divided by home value.