What's worse is that point--that banks profit off spreads--doesn't actually do harm to consumers. It's the long-term lending, short-term borrowing structure of

What's worse is that point--that banks profit off spreads--doesn't actually do harm to consumers. It's the long-term lending, short-term borrowing structure of banks that enables them to offer higher interest rates than the market short-term interest rates. That's how banks came about: people got higher interest by pooling their money with money-lenders than they did lending money themselves. Both the consumers and the bankers capture some surplus. Welcome to free trade. You don't have to take my word for it. Compare the rates on short to medium-term CDs with the rates offered by Treasuries. Both of these have the same risk to the consumer, but which offer higher interest? (Some CDs have excessive withdrawal penalties. Go to a bank that doesn't have this, or use brokered CDs.)