The Federal Reserve cannot stop people borrowing money, buying gold, housing, or acting like sheep in any way.
Sheep syndrome is quite common in the markets, the gold mania in 1980 and 2011 are classic examples. There was worldwide euphoria much like the 1987 stock market boom and crash which I remember very clearly.
And in 1987, and prior to the GFC, I reduced my exposure to risky assets accordingly.
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The U.S. central banking system, the Federal Reserve, in partnership with central banks around the world, took several steps to address the subprime mortgage crisis. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in early 2008: "Broadly, the Federal Reserve’s response has followed two tracks: efforts to support market liquidity and functioning and the pursuit of our macroeconomic objectives through monetary policy." A 2011 study by the Government Accountability Office found that "on numerous occasions in 2008 and 2009, the Federal Reserve Board invoked emergency authority under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to authorize new broad-based programs and financial assistance to individual institutions to stabilize financial markets. Loans outstanding for the emergency programs peaked at more than $1 trillion in late 2008.