Prosperity Prophets

Even in Jeremiah's time, there were prosperity preachers! But these preachers may not have been motivated by making money or being famous but were most likely just trying to stay alive.
"Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, 'No disaster shall come upon you.'"
Jeremiah 23:16-17

It's astonishing how relevant this is still thousands of years later. While Jeremiah as preaching that the Lord was going to judge Israel for sin, these "prophets" were preaching the opposite, that regardless of what the people were engaging in, they were going to be fine because they were God's chosen people! I do not think it would be right to apply this text too liberally in the present as the Lord was speaking to a specific people at a time when the people were under judgment but at the same time I think it still applies that preachers who do not take into account the seriousness of our forms of sin and idolatry and exclusively preach niceties about thinking positively about yourself and not having a defeatist attitude (Osteen, etc.) are leading people astray.

It sounds like there is a bit of relativism going on in this time as well. These preachers were most likely more concerned about remaining popular with the people then confronting people's sin (which makes sense since prophets were getting sawed in half!). I wonder under these circumstances if I would have the courage to speak what the Lord had given me to say or if I would flee from conflict (which I have a tendency to do).

It's easy to rip on these prophets who were preaching prosperity, but before I do that I want to make sure that I wouldn't have done the same thing if I were faced with a people who were ready to kill me just for preaching what God had said. What are the current day preachers excuse for preaching what the people want to hear (in form of health and wealth)?