[actually_a_dog]

You really think employees of SVB bank clients should bear the burden of decisions made by their employers without their input, likely without their knowledge, and very little reason to care 99.99% of the time? Quick, without looking at your paystub, what bank does your employer use?

I don't disagree that doing things like addressing medical debt are worthy ways to promote the general welfare, but let's not pretend it's an either/or, thing here, either. You don't seem to want to acknowledge the full context of the situation, which seems at least on the edge of disengenuousness. This as well, after you try to frame it as a "bank bailout" then backpedal when called on it.

[yunwal]

I believe employees understand that working at a small, highly-leveraged startup is risky, whether or not they know which bank they use. The employees, by law, get 2 months wages guaranteed by the government (under the WARN act), and should have additional savings from their highly-paid SV tech job (which is partially highly paid because the employer engages in risky behavior) which I think is plenty of cushion to get their finances in order.

But the real problem I have is with special treatment. There's plenty of people out there who get screwed by their employer's negligence/malice but the only ones who get bailed out beyond the letter of the law are the ones with the networks, money, and influence to make noise about it.

> but let's not pretend it's an either/or, thing here, either.

But it is. You either spend money in 1 place, or you spend it in another.

> "bank bailout"

This isn't like a well-defined term as far as I'm aware, so 2 situations where banks/customers rely on the government to come to the rescue when risks don't pay out can both be called bailouts, whether or not the company remains in tact. You see plenty of media organizations and people calling this a bailout despite the fact that the bank is being dissolved, because it's a colloquial term.

[gdy]

"very little reason to care"

Maybe they should care. Why shouldn't an employee care about financial stability of their employer?

[actually_a_dog]

Be honest: have you ever asked an employer what bank they use when you were interviewing? Is this your general policy? 10:1 says it's not, and you haven't. Even if you're the exception, I'm sure 99% of employees have literally never asked this question. Think about why that might be.

[gdy]

When I cared about stability I picked a big employer from which one would expect prudency. When I worked at a small company, I expected it to get ruined at any moment and planned accordingly. Since I became self-employed, I care a great deal about which bank I use and never put all eggs in one basket.

As I said: maybe they should.

[actually_a_dog]

But, you didn't actually ask. And that is literally my point.

I care about stability in my employment situation as much as the next canine. I've worked at 4 startups, each with under 150 employees apiece. I've asked questions about funding, client base, growth plans, etc. All the normal "hard" questions you have to ask as a prospective startup employee. Not once have I ever asked where they banked. Not once has anyone I know asked where their employer banked.

I would submit that if the banking system becomes fragile enough that asking about such a thing is actually a good idea, we have bigger problems as a whole, which would make a prospective employer's answer to any such question irrelevant. And if that's the case, why ask?

Another way to put it: it's not employees and consumers putting "all eggs in one basket." It's the economy as a whole. If there's one thing that the 2008 financial crisis proved, it's that if the banking system gets gummed up, second and third order effects very quickly begin to set in and ruin things for everybody.

Now, if you know how to reconstruct the banking system to avoid this, I'd like to hear it. But as long as my employer's payroll funds aren't stored under the CEO's mattress, I think I'm good with that.

[gdy]

I understand, but my point is that most people don't need it -- they either use proxy for that or already accept startup-level risks. So bankruptcy of a startup due to poor bank choice is just one of many failure modes for startups.

"we have bigger problems as a whole" I don't think so, at least based on Russia's experience. In the previous decade plenty of banks got closed with businesses losing money, but economy was ok and the banking ecosystem got healthier.