Why not force banks to duration match?

A popular solution for the credit crisis in right wing circles is forcing banks to duration match their assets and liabilities--i.e., do away with interest bearing demand deposits (aka savings and checking accounts). Why is this a bad idea? 1. It would involve a massive, massive credit contraction. Hello, Great Depression. 2. Actually matching pool credit to particular loans would be a much more expensive business than the current banking system. 3. The expansion of credit has historically enabled a lot of things we like, such as homeownership and entrepreneurship. 4. How many people want to pay the bank to hold onto their money? 5. A smaller credit system will not ultimately prevent inflation/deflation. Without interest bearing accounts, savings become a wasting asset. 6. To the extent that it does prevent inflation, this is not necessarily a good thing--a little inflation greases the labor market, mitigating the effects of demand shocks.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/06/why-not-force-banks-to-duration-match/3651/