New column: In praise of banks and thrifts

My new column is up online, and in the issue of Time with Rosie the Peace Corps Conscriptee on the cover. It begins: The last big mortgage debacle, the savings-and-loan crisis, was made mostly in Washington. The S&Ls were required by law to borrow short (via savings deposits) and lend long (via 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages). [...]