The world financial markets changed forever the morning of September 18, 2008, with  the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers as almost US$700,000,000,000 (an ironic number) of outstanding debt instruments became lodged in regulatory cement. The flow of capital is the life blood of any and all financial transactions, without which the entire global machine comes to a screeching and irrevocable halt.  There may be intent and desire to make new capital commitments, as well as to close existing contracts, but without this flow financial inertia sets in. Was this an unavoidable black swan or a simple example of excessive greed fueled by exponential leverage and the lack of adequate internal and/or external oversight? This paper:  1. examines past financial disasters including the savings and loan debacle of the 1980’s and the hubristic experience of Long Term Capital Management in the late 1990’s 2.  discusses the causes and possible solutions to the current financial crisis in the US; 3. attempts to better understand the role of those with a vested interest including regulatory bodies; and 4. analyzes their effect on the financial markets.