Thomas Geoghegan, writing in a recent issue of Harper’s Magazine, puts forth a theory that at first glance seems almost too silly to voice, let alone take seriously. He argues that it was not derivatives, hedge funds, gambling insurance companies, or excessively paid financial executives that destroyed our economy, but rather crippling interest rates...

As the financial crisis continues to unfold, headlines increasingly focus on the pain and hardship ordinary Americans are suffering. Let us not forget that the wealth accumulated by a small handful of Americans, often at the expense of others, was obscene and remains largely intact. Occasionally this wealth comes into view, most often when it’s about to...