Republicans and Democrats may posit their own political reasons why Silicon Valley Bank collapsed like a dying star — a “woke” obsession with ESG, corporate greed, venture capitalists orchestrating a bank run — but the real reason is much scarier, if only because the entire finance industry has bought into the delusion. From its nondiversified choice of clientele to its ultimately shortsighted “long term” investing strategy, SVB was guided by the pipe dream that the money printer would never stop.

Recall that for over a decade, the federal government and Federal Reserve conducted the experiment of quantitative easing and near-zero interest rates despite the longest bull market in history. The coronavirus pandemic kicked the study into overdrive, with two presidents adding $6 trillion in new spending and the Federal Reserve financing the deal, printing 40% of all U.S. dollars in existence in a three-year time span.