Synopses & Reviews
The most remarkable thing about the collapse of the savings and loan industry is that so many of the major participants--the regulators, politicians, and S&L operators themselves--chose to do nothing as they watched problems mount and taxpayer liabilities grow. That choice was dictated by a variety of motives: greed, political self-interest, and even (sometimes) misguided good intentions. Whatever the motives, this collective interest in hiding the debacle made it certain that the industry's final fall would come with an enormous bang, one that would force administrations that professed a free market philosophy essentially to nationalize a majority of the nation's thrifts. As a result, the industry in many respects became one of the best examples of socialism in the U.S. economy.
Synopsis
The savings and loan collapse of the Reagan/Bush years was caused by a failure of the American political system. This is the full story of that failure, including the machinations of Neil Bush, told in absorbing detail by the Washington Post reporter who uncovered much of it herself from 1986-90 and who continues to be one of the scandal's most astute investigators.
Synopsis
The savings and loan debacle is the costliest scandal in the country's history. How could such a catastrophe have occurred?