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SVB shows that there are few libertarians in a financial foxhole

ft.com

11–20 of 493 posts

Re: SVB shows that there are few libertarians in a financial foxhole

#11
The author ignores that behind the downfall of SVB was a climate of excess liquidity on the markets, a bonanza created by the authorities that made SVB see itself with a glut of funds. Now, SVB, loaded with money, could have tried loaning it like crazy, but instead, decided to go the conservative way and buy bonds.

Someone could argue that they could have foreseen that this abundance of liquidity in the markets, along with the supply chain issues, would eventually lead to inflationary pressures and that once inflation has shown its ugly face, those bond's market value would be discounted, and that they could become vulnerable to a bank run.

But in the end, even if we could argue that SVB should have been more prescient, it is clear that the root cause of the problems is the actions of the government and the FED.

That said, please don't confuse me with a libertarian; I am just raising a somewhat contrarian point. Being called a libertarian would be an enormous source of shame and disgust for my mom.

Re: SVB shows that there are few libertarians in a financial foxhole

#12

Is there a term for someone that is libertarian inclined, but does believe in a minimal level of government regulation and intervention? A "Lite-Libertarian" of sorts.

Plenty of Libertarians do. It's an umbrella term that encompasses everyone from anti-capitalists and Libertarian Socialists to classical liberals.

Re: SVB shows that there are few libertarians in a financial foxhole

#15
This reminds me of one of my favorite books from the past couple years, A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear.

It’s a fascinating deep dive into an attempt to create a sort of libertarian utopia in a small town called Grafton, New Hampshire. The speed at which they arrive at “we need government services” after they eviscerate government services is… unsurprising.

10/10 I highly recommend it for anyone that’s interested in real-life examples of libertarianism as applied to real populations in the real world.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358538-a-libertarian-w...

Re: SVB shows that there are few libertarians in a financial foxhole

#18
post #6

Prominent libertarians who opposed intervention: https://johnhcochrane.blogspot.com/2023/03/silicon-valley-ba... https://twitter.com/CliffordAsness/status/163512097142539468... https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/16350699533753425...

I consider myself to be pretty libertarian but the idea that an intervention was going to cost the government any amount of money that didn't equate to a rounding error is ridiculous. Coupled the contagion it could have caused, this was an easy decision. They had enough in assets to cover 95% of deposits. They weren't just super liquid.

Re: SVB shows that there are few libertarians in a financial foxhole

#19

Somewhat mangling what I believe is the commonly accepted phrase: 'No atheists in a foxhole, no libertarians in a bank run'

>commonly accepted phrase

I can't find any source for the "no libertarians in a bank run" part before this weekend.

Re: SVB shows that there are few libertarians in a financial foxhole

#20
While libertarian tendencies may be more prevalent in the VC community, they seem to still be a small minority (or at least that’s my perception).

I for one undoubtedly think the treasuries actions create real moral hazard, but also am grateful that the depositors potentially affected by this won’t be harmed…

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