By Pema Levy
At an event in Lansing, Michigan Monday, Rick Santorum put forward an alternate theory for the cause of the financial crisis in 2008: that rising gas prices caused Americans to default on their mortgages, leading to the wave of foreclosures that sparked Wall Streets near collapse.
We went into a recession in 2008 because of gasoline prices, Santorum said to a hotel ballroom of supporters. The bubble burst in housing because people couldnt pay their mortgages because of $4 a gallon gasoline.
This isnt the first time Rick Santorum has offered up his gas price theory. Earlier this month, he made the same claim in Colorado (via the Colorado Independent):
We went into a recession in 2008. People forget why. They thought it was a housing bubble. The housing bubble was caused because of a dramatic spike in energy prices that caused the housing bubble to burst, Santorum told the audience. People had to pay so much money to air condition and heat their homes or pay for gasoline that they couldnt pay their mortgage.
More: Santorums New Theory On Financial Collapse: Gas Prices Did It! | TPM2012