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Taxpayers did not pay for the FDIC protections. And shareholders are wiped out, so they didn't gain from this collapse.

Oh yes they did ... the fees that banks collect from depositors are used to fund the FDIC insurance fund.

Since everyone needs a bank account in this country, taxpayers are taking the hit on this one pure and simple.

It's more accurate to say that "bank depositors" are taking the hit, in the form of increased FDIC fees. Which end up reflected in lower interest rates for bank savings accounts. If you only keep a negligible money in bank accounts, then you aren't paying for this.

If you are keeping a lot of money in the bank, then yes, you are paying for this. But you are also gaining, in a sense, from the stability of the banking system.

This is also assuming that the sale of SVB's assets doesn't end up covering the full cost, and that the remaining cost is large enough to result in a meaningfully sized special assessment on FDIC member banks. My understanding is that neither of these outcomes are a given or even likelier than not.

I'd rather the stability come from prison sentences instead.

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