Lost Causes
Who's to blame for the S&L crisis? To hear politicians tell it, the villains are crooked managers, bad junk bond investments, and financial deregulation. But these changes aren't consistent with the facts. About 46 percent of the losses were incurred before deregulation. Maybe the politicians should look at the regulations that set up and protected inept thrifts.
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Lost Causes."
