Unpopular opinion: the government should try to make depositors of banks whole when their banks fail.
I believe the petition is asking that the government cover the difference by paying out now and assume the risk of the bank's assets not covering the difference.
If you wanted such a high cap, you'd need to increase the deposit insurance premiums much further to cover for it. The banks were already unhappy about the most recent 2 basis point increase earlier this year -- https://www.fdic.gov/news/financial-institution-letters/2022...
That's like saying you don't remember hearing about CDOs as a potential problem in 2006. This is the second-largest bank failure in the US, and it disproportionately hits one industry. This just isn't a problem we're used to thinking about.
It's not suddenly unpopular. It's never been popular to ask people to rescue businesses just because the lost a bet.
> it's clearly way too low for businesses.
Right, but businesses have a number of ways to limit their risk that individuals don't have. FDIC is not the only protection available, it's just the one that doesn't cost you anything.
No one's asking for SVB or shareholders to be bailed out, they're asking for depositors to be bailed out. When you put money in the bank, you don't think of it as "making a bet."
Up to the limits of your insurance, you're not. (Well, even then you technically are, but it's as close to a sure thing as you'll get). Beyond that, though, you are, always have been, and always will be. There is no risk-free place to park a bunch of money. Not even under your mattress. That's why you always need to be thinking about risk mitigation. Not just with money, by the way, but with everything your business does.
If you're beyond the $250k, you should be fully aware that you're making a bet. There's literally signs inside of every bank telling you that.