Introduction

This week are we in the midst of a new financial crisis? The failure of Silicon Valley Bank last weekend and the federal bailout of its depositors this week suddenly focused attention on the stresses and weaknesses in the US financial system. What's behind these latest tremors? Why did SPPs depositors get a bailout? Even those many customers there with deposits won an excess of federal deposit insurance guarantee limits. Did the Biden administration do its many friends in Silicon Valley a favor?