S & L hell

About this book

The savings and loan mess is the greatest financial scandal in our nation's history. Over the course of the 1980s, that mess grew from a relatively modest problem early in the Reagan presidency to one that will cost an unimaginable $1 trillion - $4,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. S & L Hell offers the most complete account of the causes of the catastrophe, spotlighting the role of the bumbling regulators, greedy thrift operators, sleazy lobbyists, venal and foolish politicians, presidents and a White House staff that consistently ignored the disaster - and the few heroes who struggled gamely to combat the looming problem. Its account is told through the stories of the leading players, men like the S&L president who dressed like a king and served his guests lion and antelope meat; the U.S. League of Savings Institutions, lobbyists who spread money (and much more) through the halls of the Capitol; the powerful representatives and senators, cutting deals in hallways, cloakrooms, and remote offices, "lawmakers" whose roles the scandal helped drive from office; the happy-go-lucky public relations man in over his head, who, as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, found himself called upon to prevent a fiscal collapse of epic proportions. And the role that George Bush and his son Neil played in the debacle - a role much larger than the public has been made aware. By taking the reader into agency back offices and congressional committee rooms where the crucial decisions were being made - such as that to raise FDIC insurance to $100,000 - S & L H…

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