Social & Economic Issues
Silicon Valley Bank Marks Historic Failure
By Ahmed Huossein
The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was a state-chartered bank in California and was America's 16th largest bank in deposits. From financing startups in their early stages to supporting established technology companies, the SVB played a vital role in fueling innovation and growth in the tech industry. However, in March 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation stated they were shutting down the bank after it failed.
In simple terms, the primary reason a bank goes bankrupt is that it owes more money to people than it has. This occurs when the bank loses a lot of money on its investments. In SVB's case, it failed because it invested the funds received from tech venture capital in long-term U.S. treasury bonds to get a return, but when interest rates rose, it sold some of those bonds at a loss. Tech investors panicked, causing a bank run (a sudden withdrawal of deposits due to a lack of confidence in a bank), resulting in SVB becoming the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history within 36 hours.
According to the article "Watch: Silicon Valley Bank CEO's Last Message to More Than 8,000 Employees at the Failed Bank” from The San Francisco Standard by Kevin Truong and John Koehn, Greg Becker, the CEO of SVB, says, "I have an ask, and it's a completely unfair ask. My unfair ask is this: Can you guys just hang around, try to support each other, try to support our clients, work together to achieve what may be a slightly better outcome to where we are right now?" After SVB's failure, Becker made a heartfelt plea to the bank's more than 8,000 employees. His message highlights the gravity of the situation and underscores the human impact of SVB's failure.
Alarmed by the situation, the federal government stepped in. According to Ken Sweet, Christopher Rugaber, Chris Megerian, and Cathy Bussewitz in an article by the Associated Press titled, “U.S. Government Moves to Stop Potential Banking Crisis”, “The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday [March 12] to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down…Under the plan, depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, including those whose holdings exceed the $250,000 insurance limit, will be able to access their money on Monday.” This action by the government has reassured companies, such as Roku and Roblox, who were worried about the billions of dollars they had stored at the bank.
Additionally, according to John Kandrac, an economist in the Division of Research & Statistics at the Federal Reserve Board, in a research paper titled “Bank Failure, Relationship Lending, and Local Economic Performance”, Kandrac states, “In general, the results show that in the year after a bank failure, counties experienced slower income, employment, and compensation growth while also seeing a higher incidence of countywide poverty as a result of the failure.” Bank failures can have significant consequences on the public, and understanding why banks fail can help individuals prepare for potential economic challenges and make informed decisions about their financial activities.
Bayside High School junior Priyanshi Panchal says, "I think, for the most part, SVB should have been more aware of the consequences of investing so much. They should have at least stopped investing when interest rates went up initially.”
Similarly, Bayside High School junior Evan Seigel says, "I believe that the federal government did a good job…I feel that the banks were most at fault here. They took huge risks, especially when taking money out of V.C.s and hedge funds [types of investment funds]."
Bank failures aren't very common, but they can have drastic effects when they happen. Mitigating the impacts of potential bank failures is something the public can take into their own hands. Whether you do research on FDIC-insured banks or diversify your assets across multiple banks, individuals can make sure a bank failure doesn't harm them.
Adopt, Don’t Shop: The Problems With Getting Pets From Pet Stores
By Afra Noor
Have you ever thought of the consequences thousands of domestic animals face before arriving at your local pet store? Dog mills, cat mills, and other similar factories conduct intensive breeding on these animals in order to gain profit while ignoring the needs of the animals themselves. These inhumane practices have been around for over a century, and it is about time there is a complete stop to it.
According to the article “3 Shady Things Pet Stores Don’t Want You to Know” by ASPCA, “Mother dogs are bred constantly, without any rest or screening for diseases.” Pets in breeding facilities are rarely in a position to reproduce in a healthy manner. As a result of overpopulation, these breeders are put in congested spaces, making the breeding process a continuous cycle of hardships.
Additionally, in the article “Consumers Buying Sick and Dying Animals from Pet Stores” by Pet Place, the writer indicates how the majority of animals bought from pet stores are unable to maintain good health. The author states that out of 117 reports from people who bought puppies from pet stores, 63 of them had an illness, 25 had an inherited defect, five had temperament issues, and 23 died within weeks of buying them.
As the pets don’t receive the proper veterinary care that they need from their early years, it prevents them from achieving a long, healthy life. Later, this affects pet owners as they would have to make costly investments for the well-being of their pets.
Often, people may be tempted to impulsively buy pets from pet stores while being unaware of the responsibilities that come along with their purchase. This includes parents giving children a pet of their own to handle. Such irresponsibility causes pet owners to abandon their pets, bringing the animals uncertain fate.
Correspondingly, the article “Pet Adoption Statistics in 2023” by the Zebra notes that in one year, “6.5 million dogs, cats, and other former pets are abandoned or lost.”
The aftermath of these abandoned animals may remain unknown to pet owners. However, foreign environments as well as a lack of resources can bring danger to these animals. Unknowingly, unneutered pets are prone to mating and reproducing which can also lead to a further struggle for survival. Hence, abandonment caused by impulsive buying can have long-term consequences.
For instance, in the article “Pet Not Spayed or Neutered Can Have Serious Health Issues,” Dr. Emily Coatney-Smith of Dayton Daily News, writes about various infections adapted by unneutered domesticated animals, such as pyometra which is an example of urine infection. However, pets adopted from shelters always have such procedures done.
As of 2023, only a few states in the United States have enacted laws against commercial sales of pets — California being the first state in 2017 with the Landmark Law. In 2020, Maryland followed with the No More Puppy Mills Act, and, in 2021, Illinois replaced the Humane Pet Store Law. Furthermore, Governor Kathy Hochul initiated the Puppy Mill Pipeline Act for New York to officially ban pet stores, which will be in effect starting in 2024.
These laws should be a steering light for all states to discard incautious breeding facilities, which bring imprudent harm to innocent animals. Nonetheless, there are many ways one can encourage others to not contribute to pet store purchases. Buying from a pet store means another animal losing their chance of being adopted from a shelter. So, if you are ever thinking of bringing a new family member into your home, consider adopting.
Safe Space or Danger Zone?
By Emily Wang
It was another day of browsing the Internet combating boredom, when I suddenly came across a video with a luring title. Unaware of the extent to how disturbing the information would be, I clicked on it and sat down to “enjoy”.
The video discussed a situation about an online forum created to discuss suicide. However, that seems to be a cover-up for a much more sinister “plan”. The forum's main agenda is to pressure and encourage vulnerable people, especially minors, to “catch the bus” (a term used on the site to refer to the act of bringing one’s life to an end). Halfway through the video, I paused and decided to do some research on the sketchy website since I was becoming curious about its format. It was relatively easy to find and it wasn’t long before I came across its unnerving content. On one hand, half the content consisted of a “safe” space for people to share their struggles and thoughts about suicide. On the other hand, the other half actively encouraged others to commit suicide, going as far as to threaten, belittle, and even recommend methods. Individuals who were seeking answers on the forum were preyed on by sadistic degenerates who received gratification from their acts.
At first, it was hard to believe that people would take action from the opinions of a stranger. However, as shown in this case, vulnerable people are particularly easy to sway. In many cases, it can be described as mental manipulation. Mental manipulation, also known as psychological or emotional manipulation, is the use of tactics to influence another person’s thoughts and behaviors. Mental manipulation comes in many different forms including gaslighting, pressuring, and playing with insecurities. Gaslighting is when a person seeks to make another person doubt their perceptions and their sanity. From relationships to cult leaders, this toxic form of persuasion can be prevalent in a plethora of situations.
People tend to manipulate others to have control over them; many manipulators tend to feel powerful after getting their victims to do what they want. However, mental manipulation can’t be easily categorized; it exists on many levels. One example of mental manipulation is when a person downplays the severity of a situation in efforts to persuade another person to do what they want. A user from the forum wrote to another user, “Good luck! … since ending oneself properly requires a lot of preparations. Besides, it would be the last thing you will ever do so you might as well be good at it.” Suggesting the act of ending one’s life to seem minuscule, can potentially lead the other person believing they should follow through. Made by several different commenters, the often overlooked manipulation tactic was prevalent.
Through the few pages I skimmed, the format consisted of a user commenting that they were going to “catch the bus” and several other users would then encourage them. Another user of the forum stated, "I hope it goes well. I’m sorry for whatever pain you have and are going through. … Go quickly and painlessly, you deserve it.” Reading through comments that encouraged suicide like it was a casual topic was abhorrent. Although these comments should never be said to a person contemplating life, these comments weren’t even close to being the worst ones.
The worst part is that the forum is still up and running. The creators of the forum claim that the purpose of the forum is to provide a space for struggling people to discuss “deeply personal topics without censorship.” These developers seem to enjoy celebrating the desperation of others.
According to the New York Times article “Where the Despairing Log On, and Learn Ways to Die” by Megan Twohey and Gabriel J.X. Dance, “Though members are anonymous, The New York Times identified 45 who had killed themselves in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, and Australia… More than 500 members — a rate of more than two a week — wrote ‘goodbye threads’ announcing how and when they planned to end their lives, and then never posted again.” The numbers are exceedingly overwhelming as the targeted audience is between 15 and 24 years old, the ages when people are most susceptible to mental manipulation.
Another alarming aspect is that according to SimilarWeb ( a web analytics website), the forum brought in around 631,600 views the past month while suicide awareness/prevention sites such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline had 48,900 views in the last month. It is shocking how many individuals turn to a forum that would encourage them to end their life rather than turn to a trustworthy prevention line.
Mental manipulation is a topic that should be taken more seriously. It was so impressionable that, in this case, it led to deaths of many mentally unwell individuals. Suicide is an extremely serious topic that should not be simplified and encouraged like the users on the forum did. If you are struggling with mental health and contemplating life, please visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline instead of the malicious forum.
(I do not recommend trying to search up or look for the forum; it is quite disturbing and was left out deliberately.)
