ABSTRACT
By the end of the 1980s, it had become apparent that the V.S. government's role as a financial guarantor posed an unprecedented threat to the taxpayer. President George Bush's 1991 budget proposal acknowledged that all deposits held in V.S. banks, thrifts, and credit unions-approximately $3 trillion-are a contingent liability of the federal government. With this admission, the Administration registered both its concern about the escalating costs of financial failures and its ignorance about how to stop the rising numbers of bailouts.2 According to the V.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), taxpayer exposure may be as high as $5 trillion if other financial guarantee and credit programs are taken into account.3
