Fiat currency has little to do with the eventual housing crisis that resulted. It would be exceedingly rare to find a democrat these days who would prefer the gold standard since it would limit the ability of public bonds to raise money for public works. On the other hand, as noble as the intent might have been, the Community Reinvestment Act had a detrimental effect. It's the same thing that's wrong with student loans today. If you promise Bank's low risk loans, they're naturally going to continue to lend more and more until they end up with bundles of underwater mortgages. If we foolishly bail them out each time, why would they stop?