Money Angles Go Slow!

That S&L Junk Is Worth Something

Having been repeatedly underestimated, the size of the savings and loan bailout -- at the $500 billion so often cited -- may finally be a bit overblown.

For one thing, calling the cost to taxpayers $500 billion is sort of like calling your $150,000 mortgage a $500,000 problem because that's how much, with interest, it will cost to repay. But other factors may also eventually contain the vast damage that has unquestionably been done. (The damage is not that S&Ls; have failed; we had too many S&Ls; anyway. The damage is in half- built or largely vacant shopping centers and office...

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