What are the similarities between the US Savings and Loan Crisis (1980s) and the 2008 Financial Crisis?

That's a great question. You can think of these two crises as two brothers, distinct in appearance but very similar in bloodline and temperament. Both offered profound lessons.

In short, the core similarities between the 1980s "Savings and Loan Crisis" and the 2008 "Financial Crisis" can be summarized as follows:

1. Deregulation, Leading to Increased Boldness

S&L Crisis (1980s): Imagine a group of "Savings and Loan Associations" (S&Ls) originally restricted to safe businesses like "taking deposits and lending for home mortgages." Suddenly, the government said, "You can now dabble in something more exciting!" So, they started investing depositors' money into high-risk commercial real estate, junk bonds, and other ventures. Their audacity grew instantly.
Financial Crisis (2008): Similarly, before the 2008 crisis, financial regulations on Wall Street were significantly loosened. Large banks were allowed to invest with higher leverage (i.e., borrowing more money) and invented various dazzling, extremely high-risk financial products (like the CDOs we'll discuss below).

In essence, both times involved "unleashing" financial institutions, transforming them from "good kids" into "wild kids."

2. Both Linked to Real Estate as the Powder Keg

S&L Crisis (1980s): The powder keg then was commercial real estate. A large influx of capital into office buildings, shopping malls, and similar projects led to overbuilding and a massive bubble.
Financial Crisis (2008): This time, the powder keg was the more familiar housing market. Banks issued home loans to many people with poor credit and low incomes (the so-called "subprime borrowers"), believing that housing prices would continue to rise, and even if borrowers defaulted, selling the houses would still yield profit.

The trigger for both crises was a real estate bubble. One bet on commercial property, the other on residential, but essentially both gambled on the myth that "housing prices will always rise."

3. Financial Institutions Playing Dangerous "Hot Potato" Games

S&L Crisis (1980s): S&Ls packaged high-risk loans or directly invested in junk bonds, thinking they could make quick money, but failed to consider that these assets would become worthless once the market reversed.
Financial Crisis (2008): Wall Street played an even more elaborate game. They packaged thousands of home loans (including a large number of unreliable subprime mortgages) into a financial product called a "Collateralized Debt Obligation" (CDO), and then sold it to investors worldwide.
- To illustrate: This was like mixing a bunch of good and rotten apples, juicing them, and then labeling the juice "Premium Quality" to sell to you. Initially, you couldn't taste the difference, but with too many rotten apples, this "juice" would eventually spoil. When a large number of homeowners defaulted on their loans, these CDOs became "poison," and anyone who bought them suffered.

The essence of this game was to package risk and sell it to the next person, as long as the bomb didn't explode in their own hands. The result was that risk spread like a virus throughout the entire financial system.

4. Regulation Failed to Keep Up, or Even "Slept"

S&L Crisis (1980s): Regulators failed to detect the S&Ls' reckless behavior in time; by the time they did, the hole was too big to plug.
Financial Crisis (2008): Rating agencies (like Moody's and S&P) gave those "toxic" CDOs the highest AAA safety rating, which was equivalent to labeling "poisonous juice" as "organic, all-natural," misleading all investors. Regulators also turned a blind eye to these complex financial innovations.

In both cases, those playing with fire ran ahead, while the regulators, responsible for putting out fires, walked slowly behind, or even pretended not to see.

Summary

So, you see, although the two crises occurred in different historical contexts and involved different specific financial products, the script was strikingly similar:

Deregulation → Real Estate Bubble → Excessive Risk-taking and "Financial Innovation" by Financial Institutions → Regulatory Lapses → Bubble Burst → Systemic Collapse → Government Bailout → Economic Recession.

History doesn't repeat itself exactly, but it often rhymes. These two crises are like cases of failed family education, where children (financial institutions) were given too much freedom and pocket money without being taught responsibility and risk awareness, ultimately leading to chaos that parents (the government and taxpayers) had to clean up.