Interesting. So a bailout is when the rules are changed so that some people get to keep money that they otherwise would have lost (or would not have gotten). I'm onboard with that.
But then the PPP and pandemic payments were bailouts, too - a bailout isn't necessarily a "bad" thing, right?
Like, we judge the bailout by who benefits, right?
We should just bail out families, small businesses with payroll needs, etc., and VC firms should take a haircut? Or rich people shouldn't be bailed out - cap FDIC guaranteed deposits at 1m?
Or should Signature have gotten the full deposit bailout (not tained with VC funny-money), while SVB should not?
Serious question: what is the rule / policy / threshold that solves the problem better than "everyone affected by the problem gets the same full deposit insurance"? It's a decision full of tradeoffs, being made in a limited time and information situation. I don't think the Fed+FDIC+Yellen are making calls based on trying to "save" nor "punish" certain groups - they can't possibly have the time or resources to figure out an optimal solution.