The Bank Versus The Train

Lessons in who we bail out.

I would hope that, by this point, most people understand that the primary success driver in America is money. If I had to pick a №2, I would say “family,” but that is significantly behind “money” for most (not all) people. Phrased another way: America is predominantly about getting yours, and sadly that often comes at the expense of others.

America is about getting your nut. Parenting matters — until it gets in the way of that.

So if you compare “Silicon Valley Bank” to “East Palestine Train Derailment,” it’s relatively obvious where the resources and policy would immediately head: the bank. I have acquaintances who work at JP Morgan, and their clients — who had no money in or connection to SVB — were calling them hair on fire about what was happening. A bank run! When powerful and important people get upset, we send resources. That’s a good thing in general, although ideally we’d do it for everyone, and not just the rich and nicely-groomed.