I'm sure the whole story will come out eventually, but I think there were some better options that I really hope were seriously entertained and that this was a last resort after those didn't pan out. We probably disagree on this (and I think reasonable people can), but I think one of those better options would have been a private sale with some relatively small haircut - 50% no, 99% definitely, 95% probably, 90% maybe; it's fuzzy - to uninsured deposits. That would have been painful. But it is also painful to make up yet more ad hoc public backstops for a banking sector that reaps large profits. Theoretically they earn those profits in large part through risk management on their customers' behalf. But increasingly it is actually the federal government of the US that is actually taking on that risk.
I have a ton of empathy for everyone with business or paychecks at risk, really I do. But I also don't like continuing our march toward privatizing profits while socializing losses.
I have a ton of empathy for everyone with business or paychecks at risk, really I do. But I also don't like continuing our march toward privatizing profits while socializing losses.