Subject Matter Experts

“The radioactivity will mostly be out of your system in a day.”

I am a subject matter expert with that. I am a nuclear medicine technologist, and I must tell my patients the risks of their test. The risks are extremely low – comparable to a CAT scan. Many patients are still very anxious about having radioactivity injected in their bodies. I can understand that. It is part of my job to inform and reassure them.

We rely on subject matter experts – reporters, economists, political pundits, doctors, military recruiters, car dealers, and more – every day. The list grows larger as our world grows more complex. We trust them to tell us the truth. We grow angry – and even sue – when they mislead us. I do not understand why this is not so with the mortgage crisis.

Bankers, the subject matter experts, had a responsibility to tell the truth to prospective home buyers. It was their responsibility to not mislead members of their public. It would be silly to blame a patient whose doctor lied to them. Likewise, it is silly to blame the now-broke borrowers when lenders misled them into thinking they could afford it.

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