Many Republicans have developed a Pavlovian response to bad news. They hear something has gone wrong – like the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – and emit a yelp: “Wokeness!”
It’s a conditioned buzzword response, meaningful only to those who speak fluent Fox News. But when it came to the California bank’s recent failure, a number of anti-woke warriors let slip the truth.
They strayed from the vague safety of “wokeness” and nonsensically pinned the blame on DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusion, a trio of words companies large and small have made part of their culture.
Silicon Valley Bank ruined by diversity? Nice try.
Discussing the Silicon Valley Bank collapse on Fox News, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said: “I mean, this bank, they’re so concerned with DEI and politics and all kinds of stuff. I think that really diverted from them focusing on their core mission.”
That is, in a word, nonsense. There’s zero evidence the bank’s desire to be a diverse and welcoming workplace had anything to do with its collapse.
Rather, SVB was heavily invested in normally secure bonds, but rising interest rates lowered the value of the bank’s bonds. Then clients got spooked about the bank’s liquidity and started withdrawing money. It was a classic bank run.