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TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Interview with Presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root

March 07, 2008
Radio Clips

The Glenn Beck Program


Wayne Allyn Root

GLENN: Okay. Now we have Wayne Allyn Root on the phone who Stu has given his -- I don't want to say you have endorsed but you have given his -- Stu has said this guy is worthy of the main show.

STU: Yeah, he is worthy of the main show. I think he is worth looking into seriously.

GLENN: And he's on the phone with us now. He's a libertarian candidate for President of the United States. Wayne Allyn Root.

ROOT: Hey, Glenn, how are you?

GLENN: Very good. How are you?

ROOT: I'm fantastic.

GLENN: All right. Would you -- you can't have it but would you like a Kenneth Cole concealed weapon handbag?

ROOT: I'd love it. It would be a great souvenir.

GLENN: Okay, that's where I -- we are on good footing so far. Now may I take you to the next level? You're a libertarian and you may be a libertarian that I could actually really kind of get behind, and I'm only basing that on your initials spell out "War."

ROOT: Well, you know, I think you would get behind me because I'm a lifetime Republican conservative who changed to libertarian the last year and a half because I got sick of George W. Bush and the big government Republicans that are currently running the GOP.

GLENN: Hang on just a second. I need to -- go ahead. Talk some more to me.

ROOT: And I think I'm a little bit different, Glenn. I think that's why you like me. I'm a son of a butcher. I'm a small businessman. I'm a home school parent. I've got a brand-new baby. I want education reform, I'm a fiscal conservative and I'm strong on defense. I think those are all things that you can get behind.

GLENN: You're speaking my language here. Now, usually the devil is in the details. So let's find the devil, shall we?

ROOT: Sure.

GLENN: Let's start with -- oh, let's just go for the big one. Let's start with war.

ROOT: Okay.

GLENN: Tell me about -- tell me where you stand on Islamic extremism, what we're fighting, how we should fight it, et cetera, et cetera.

ROOT: Well, first of all, you know, it's not like Ron Paul where I don't believe that the war on terror is a fraud. I don't believe that at all. I believe there's a terrible enemy out there. I think yesterday pointed that out with the terrorist attack at the seminary in Jerusalem. We've got a horrible enemy out there. I believe Israel is the canary in the coal mine. They are just like us and the Islamic extremists want to -- what they want to do to us eventually.

GLENN: This is like a conservative -- this is like a conservative porno right now. I haven't heard words like this for a while.

ROOT: I think what yesterday pointed out is nothing is sacred. They will kill women, they will children, they will kill the elderly, they will kill religious scholars in the same place. They are all infidels, they don't care. You know what they pointed out, that seminary shooting? The reason that more people weren't killed is one of the students in the seminary was armed with a rifle, and in America I'm a big gun guy, by the way, and I believe the reason we have so many shootings in America is not because guns are bad. It's because the people are getting killed in these slaughters are unarmed, they are complete unarmed because the Government will not let us fight back. So that's a good example of why we should have different kinds of gun attitudes in the United States of America.

GLENN: Hang on. I'm just -- I'm just --

ROOT: So you wanted to know about war.

GLENN: No, I'm just cradling my Kenneth Cole concealed handbag right now. It's crying. It's weeping. Kenneth Cole's bag is weeping right now.

ROOT: We all know who Kenneth Cole is married to, by the way, Mario Cuomo's daughter. I've never been a Kenneth Cole fan. I wouldn't buy his shoes right off the bat.

GLENN: So let's see. The war in Iraq, the war in Iraq, were you for the war in Iraq? Are you for the war in Iraq?

ROOT: I was for the war in Iraq in the beginning, as I think everyone was. Hillary Clinton voted for it. We all had information that led us to believe we would are safer if we had the war. But I've come a long way since then. I am no longer for the war. I don't want to drop our guns and run with our tail between our legs but I do want to get out as quickly as possible. I supported the surge and I believe now the surge has proven successful. We should declare victory. We achieved our goal. We built a democracy. Let's get the heck out and the lesson I think I learned is that nation-building is a failure and I never want to do it again. We can't afford it, first of all. Even our great country can't afford it with a little country like Iraq.

GLENN: Where do you stand, where do you stand on Iran?

ROOT: Well, where do I stand on it? Let's see what the facts are. At the moment I don't trust the information we get from the CIA very much due to the fact that they were pretty wrong on Iraq, don't you think?

GLENN: Yes.

ROOT: I wouldn't be in any rush to jump into Iran. I don't think we can afford any more wars quickly but certainly I would use any diplomatic means, any United Nations means, and I'm no fan of the United Nations. I can't stand them. I think we should get out of them. But I would use any means to put pressure on Iran. I would do anything at this point to avoid another war. War is expensive, it's unaffordable, it doesn't even achieve our goal. The end result is we keep butting in all over the world and the wrong things seem to happen instead of the right things after all.

GLENN: If you had to drill through a caribou's head to get oil in ANWR, I know you would avoid drilling through his head but if that were the only choice, would you do it?

ROOT: Well action actually I --

GLENN: Cover your ears, Kenneth Cole.

ROOT: To avoid terrorism we've got. Right now we depend on foreign oil and it's the liberal environmental whackos who are stopping us from finding oil in Alaska, in the Gulf of Mexico, off the California coast, off the Florida coast. That oil could wean us off our dependence on foreign oil, which is nothing more than paying the people who are supporting the terrorists who are killing us.

GLENN: Okay.

ROOT: So yes, of course I would.

GLENN: His name is Wayne Allyn Root. He is running for President of the United States. His website is RootforAmerica.com. You went to school with Barack Obama. You also had an amazing experience when you were in school in Ronald Reagan, the day that Ronald Reagan was shot and I want you to share both of those stories. We'll do it when we come back.

So far I like him. I'm waiting for the shoe to drop, but so far I like him.

(OUT 9:45)

GLENN: Wayne Allyn Root is the libertarian that is running for President of the United States. Wayne, how come there's -- I mean, how come -- you know, what happened? Why weren't you in the national debates or -- you know?

ROOT: Well, I mean, the national debates were Republican and Democrat. I haven't had the opportunity yet but if we come to September, October, November and I believe the threshold is to have 15% of the national vote in the national polls, you get to be in those national debates. Certainly the classmate of Barack Obama, we graduated on the same day. I'm going to call on my classmate to include me in those debates.

GLENN: Hang on just a second. You were actual -- did you have any classes with Barack Obama?

ROOT: Well, I'm sure I did. I just never knew him. We were both political science majors at the same college, Columbia University, graduated in the class of '83. So I guarantee you we were sitting in the same classes together but I did not know him. It's probably a graduating class of 600 or 700. So it's very possible to be in the same class and not know a person. I didn't know everyone in the whole class.

GLENN: Right. Were you -- did you have the political leanings then that you have now?

ROOT: Oh, yeah. I actually represented Ronald Reagan in the class debates in 1979 or '80, I think it was.

GLENN: So you were popular. You were popular on campus.

ROOT: Well, funny enough they took a vote before the Columbia class debate and it was 85% for Jimmy Carter. Then we had the debate and they asked the students to vote and I won in a landslide, representing Ronald Reagan. Quite amazing actually.

GLENN: It's weird how facts actually play a role in people's thinking sometimes.

ROOT: Not too often with liberals but once in a while.

GLENN: You were in class the day that Ronald Reagan was shot.

ROOT: Right.

GLENN: And I have heard the story told that Obama may have been in that class.

ROOT: Well, who knows. I'm not going to say he's in or he wasn't. I'm just going to say it was the most popular political science class at Columbia University. It was Professor Fuke (ph), it was actually taught at the women's school at Columbia University and it was about 250 kids in a theater in a round. The door opened behind us. Somebody ran in completely out of breath and started talking loudly, and everybody turned around to look and it was just so loud, it was reverberating, echoed into this large hall. And the kid said, President Reagan's been shot, he's been assassinated. He's dead. That was the first words out of his mouth and I guess that was the first erroneous report in the media was he's dead or this kid shot to that conclusion or whatever. But in any case that's what we all heard. At that moment, you know, I literally -- I'm a pretty rough kid born on the streets of New York, right on the Bronx, been in my share of street fights and I don't cry and tears started running down my eyes because this was my hero and here he was shot. I couldn't believe it. Do you know what the reaction was of the rest of the class? The entire class, after about a two second delay, jumped up like it was the middle of a football game and started screaming, yeah! High-fiving and hugging each other because Ronald Reagan had been assassinated. That was when I realized what the liberal intellectual elite in this country are really like and I was tell you, I don't know if Barack Obama was in that class. I have no idea. So I'm not saying that. But I do know that those were my fellow students at my Ivy League college and I do know that most of them today are the elite media and elite political and the elite journalists and the elite lawyers of our society. Every one of them has gone on to something special and this is their true leading in life. They cheer and high-five and hug each other and jump up and down like a football game and a touchdown's been scored at the thought that a George W. Bush or a Ronald Reagan or maybe me, Wayne Root, has just been assassinated who has conservative fiscal ideas. And that's a sad, sad thing, sad conclusion to come to.

GLENN: Wayne Allyn Root, I tell you, you've earned a second longer interview on the program. I'm intrigued to learn more about you and learn more about what you stand for.

ROOT: Could I sum up one thing that I think is real important to get out?

GLENN: Yeah.

ROOT: Well, you know, never before in the history of America two classmates run against each other for President. If Barack indeed has the nomination, and we don't know that, I have a funny feeling Hillary may find a way to steal the nomination at the convention, but Barack certainly has a lead that she probably cannot pass a delegate. There's never been a more stark contrast in comparing the life of two people that graduated the same college on the same exact day 25 years ago, and I just think it's important to note in those 25 years I've done nothing but started small businesses with my own money, created jobs, risked my own money, helped other people that worked for me achieve the American dream, paid health insurance and payroll taxes for others. I think I understand the economy where small business, the majority is nongovernment jobs.

Barack Obama sits those 25 years, talks about a very different big government existence. He's been a lawyer, he's been a community activist, which is a professional protestor on his own definition, and he's been a guy who lives off government paychecks as a state legislator in Illinois and now as a U.S. senator.

GLENN: Wayne, I've got to run but we will have you on again, sir. Wayne Allyn Root, it is RootforAmerica.com.

THESE 19 states joined Desantis' alliance against ESG. Here are their 2 main goals.

On Monday, Biden exercised his veto powers for the first time to strike down a bill that would ban states from taking ESG into consideration when investing state pension funds. In his veto message, Biden said:

Retirement plan fiduciaries should be able to consider any factor that maximizes financial returns for retirees across the country. That's not controversial — that's common sense.

At the risk of using the loaded word "gaslit," it continues to be the operative word in describing the policies coming out of the Biden White House. It is painfully obvious that ESG itself inhibits investors from "maximizing financial returns." That was never ESG's goal in the first place. Yet Biden said the opposite.

ESG aims to incentivize investors to make "socially conscious" (a.k.a woke) investments, even if they are at odds with the greatest return on investment. It has enabled state governments and investment firms to use their monopoly over the investment space to force companies to choose between adopting their woke ESG standards and losing critical investment. Isn't there a word for that? Extortion? Or modern-day politics?

ESG enables state governments to force companies to choose between adopting their woke ESG standards and losing critical investment.

That is the sole reason why Republicans brought the bill to his desk in the first place: As Glenn said, "ESG poses a clear and present danger to the American way of life, the soul of our nation and every sector of our economy. ESG was never about ROI. It was always about pushing a leftist agenda.

And Biden knows this.

Why would he want to give up something that enables his political party and corporate elites to control and manipulate the political affiliations of their people? Who would want to give up that power? Biden certainly doesn't.

And he didn't.

Instead, he boldly asserts the exact opposite: that ESG itself "maximizes financial returns," relying on the divided American people to debate the policy into oblivion, while he gets exactly what he wants: the retention of power over the American consumer. Dare I say again that "gaslit" is the operative word here?

If one thing is clear, it is that we cannot rely on the federal government to act in the best interests of the American people. However, in this critical moment, the state governments are stepping up to do what the federal government refuses to: protecting the rights of the American consumer.

In a joint resolution led by Florida Governor Ron Desantis, 19 states have pledged “to protect individuals from the ESG movement" at the state level. This is critical.

We cannot rely on the federal government to act in the best interests of the American people.

Florida leads Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming in signing the historic policy agreement among all 19 states, pledging to ban ESG practices within their jurisdictions.

The anti-ESG alliance calls ESG what it is:

A direct threat to the American economy, individual economic freedom, and our way of life, putting investment decisions in the hands of the woke mob to bypass the ballot box and inject political ideology into investment decisions, corporate governance, and the everyday economy.

This alliance takes aim at two specific practices used by left-leaning states to force companies to adopt ESG-approved practices.

First, the alliance promises to protect "taxpayers from ESG influences across state systems."

While other states are using YOUR taxpayer dollars to fund pro-ESG corporations, these states pledge to BAN this practice to ensure "that only financial factors are considered to maximize the return on investment."

The chief factor behind any investment should be determining whether that investment yields the maximum return on their investment. However, many states are using YOUR taxpayer-funded pension and retirement funds to invest in ESG-approved businesses. This not only forces businesses to consider adopting ESG standards in hopes of obtaining investment. Moreover, states are using YOUR taxpayer dollars to fund them! Would you want your government to invest your hard-earned money for partisan purposes?

The anti-ESG alliance is taking the politics out of investment and putting consumer power back in the hands of the American people. These state governments pledged to make investment decisions based solely on maximizing the return on investment, not in using your taxpayer dollars to fund their political agendas.

Second, the alliance promises to protect "citizens from ESG influences in the financial sector."

ESG standards force businesses to consider the political leanings of their customer base. For example, Discover announced they will begin tracking its customers' gun-related purchases. One of the leaders behind this push is Amalgamated Bank, which boasts on their website that their institution "supports sustainable organizations, progressive causes, and social justice." Amalgamated Bank CEO Priscilla Sims Brown said:

We all have to do our part to stop gun violence and it sometimes starts with illegal purchases of guns and ammunition The new code will allow us to fully comply with our duty to report suspicious activity and illegal gun sales to authorities without blocking or impeding legal gun sales.

This virtue signaling at the cost of your privacy is earning both Discover and Amalgamated ESG brownie points.

There are countless stories of Americans, like YOU, getting locked out of their bank accounts, dropped as clients, tracked and targeted, all because their personal political beliefs don't align with big corporations' ESG goals. Their individual privacy and dignity as a consumer aren't worth the risk of lowering the company's ESG score.

That's why the anti-ESG alliance is pledging to protect the residents in their states from this corrupt ESG exploitation. The alliance promised to ban "so-called social Credit Scores' in banking and lending practices aimed to prevent citizens from obtaining financial services like loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts."

They also promised to stop "financial institutions from discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs, such as owning a firearm, securing the border, or increasing our energy independence."

In short, they have targeted the political extortion hidden behind the virtuous ESG veil to protect citizens from being discriminated against based on political affiliation.

It's time to step up.

Biden may have struck down the effort to restore the freedom of the American consumer at the federal level. However, these states are taking it upon themselves to do what they ought: to ban practices that threaten the freedoms and privacy of their citizens.

If your state did not joining the anti-ESG alliance, it's time to demand that they step up and do their job to protect you and the rest of your fellow citizens from corrupt ESG practices. As Glenn said, "The conservative movement is best when it moves in unison." We must act and unison and push our states to protect our economic freedom and our way of life.

Are YOU prepared? Download Glenn's ULTIMATE preparation guide!

How prepared are YOU to weather a future crisis? We recently published a brand new quiz so you can find out exactly how prepared you are. Whether you're a "prepper" with a bunker fit for the apocolypse or just want to feel more secure for the future, there is always something more to learn. That's why Glenn wants to give his newsletter subscribers his "Ultimate Preparation Guide," filled with practical tips for building a solid foundation to weather future crises. And let's face it—in our crazy world right now, who couldn't use a bit more peace of mind?

Enter your email below to get "Glenn's Ultimate Preparation Guide" sent straight to your inbox!

THESE 12 Republican states are smuggling digital currency through THIS sneaky bill

Dem10 | Getty Images

Editor's Note: Arizona House Bill HB2770 has since been shut down! AZ Rep. Rachel Jones tweeted that the AZ Freedom Caucus shut down the bill before it could reach the board. It is encouraging to see states stepping to protect the American people from getting one step closer to a Central Bank Digital Currency. Hopefully, Arizona will be a precedent for the other states!

On today's radio broadcast, Glenn warned about dangerous Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) language being smuggled into routine legislation in REPUBLICAN-led states. This is unacceptable, and as Glenn said, we can't let this legislation pass as it now stands.

The legislation being used to smuggle in this CBDC language is the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a routine piece of legislation passed on the state level that helps standardize commercial and business transactions. However, a new round of UCCs being deliberated RIGHT NOW amongst a swath of Republican-led states anticipate the use of "electronic money." In a public letter sent to the Republican states currently deliberating this legislation, the Pro-Family Legislative Network said this can only refer to the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) under consideration and testing by the Federal Reserve. Biden's Executive Order 14067 issued in March of 2022 started the push for CBDC, and now these states, knowingly or unknowingly, are laying the legislative groundwork for making CBDC a reality.

There is absolutely no reason why Republican-led states should aid in laying the foundation for CBDC, yet 12 of them are deliberating it RIGHT NOW, with one UCC bill already on one GOP governor's desk! We have to act NOW to stop these UCCs in their tracks and demand our lawmakers amend the bills without the "electronic money" language.

If your state is listed below, contact your representative NOW to put an end to CBDC language.

1. North Dakota

North Dakota House Bill HB1082 passed BOTH chambers and is now sitting on Governor Burgum's desk. Burgun has 3 DAYS to veto this bill once it's placed on his desk—if not, it will pass automatically. If you are a North Dakota resident, it is absolutely CRUCIAL that you contact Governor Burgum's office NOW and demand that he veto this bill and re-introduce it without the "electronic money" language.

2. Arizona

Arizona House Bill HB2770 has been SHUT DOWN! See the above editor's note for more details.

Arizona House Bill HB2770 passed the House majority and minority caucuses. Arizona residents, contact your representative's office NOW so that they amend this bill without the "electronic money" language.

3. Arkansas

Arkansas House Bill HB1588 is in committee, and if passed, will head to the House floor. Though the bill is only in its beginning stages, it's important for Arkansas residents to stop this bill in its tracks and amend it without the "electronic money" language.

4. Missouri

Missouri House Bill HB1165 is also in its beginning stages in committee. That means it's important to contact your representative as soon as possible to amend it without the "electronic money" language.

5. Oklahoma

Oklahoma House Bill HB 2776 passed the House Committee and will go to a chamber vote soon. If passed, it will go to the Senate, then the governor's desk. If you are an Indiana resident, contact your representative's office NOW to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

6. Indiana

Indiana Senate Bill SB0486 passed the Senate and is headed to the House. Republicans control Indiana's executive office and BOTH chambers of the legislature. There is no excuse for this bill to pass. If you are an Indiana resident, it's vital you contact your representative NOW and demand they amend this bill without the "electronic money" language.

7. Kentucky

Kentucky Senate Bill SB64 passed the Senate and is now being deliberated in the House. If you live in Kentucky, contact your representative's office to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

8. Montana

Montana Senate Bill SB370 passed the Senate and was sent to the House on March 3rd. If you are a Montana resident, contact your representative's office NOW so that the bill doesn't without changing the "electronic money" language.

9. Nebraska

Nebraska's Legislative Bill LB94 passed committee and the first floor vote. As Nebraska only has one legislative chamber, this bill is dangerously close to passing the legislature and being sent to the governor's desk. If you are a Nebraska resident, contact your representative's office NOW and demand they amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

10. New Hampshire

New Hampshire House Bill HB584 is currently in House committee deliberations and has not yet reached the House floor. If you are a New Hampshire resident, contact your representative's office NOW to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

11. Tennessee

Tennessee House Bill HB0640 didn't successfully pass the House. However, it was deferred to a Senate committee and has now taken the form of Senate Bill SB0479, which is now in committee. This bill is still alive, and it's important for you, Tennessee residents, to stop it before it reaches the floor! Contact your representative to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

12. Texas

Texas House Bill HB5011 was filed and is ready to be taken up by committee. Fellow Texans, let's not let this bill progress any further! Contact your representative and demand they amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

6 things you NEED to know about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse is sparking traumatic memories of the 2008 financial crash. Should we be worried SVB is signaling a similar economic catastrophe, or is everyone overreacting to the media's hype? Glenn told his listeners to be "healthily terrified." This event is sure to have ripple effects throughout the economy, but the more you are informed about it, the more you can prepare. Here are 6 things you need to know about Silicon Valley Bank's crash—explained in simple words.

1. The short answer to what happened: SVB didn't have enough money to pay its depositors.

Remember the scene from It's a Wonderful Life when all of the residents make a run on George Bailey's bank demanding their money? Fortunately for them, their money was in the altruistic hands of George Bailey, who used his honeymoon savings to give the depositors the money they demanded.

Silicon Valley Bank's depositors weren't so lucky.

In short, the depositors made a run on Silicon Valley Bank, demanding the withdrawal of their money. But SVB simply didn't have the liquid money available to give their depositors, causing regulators to shut down the bank shortly afterward.

2. It all started with COVID...

Why didn't SVB have enough money for its depositors? To explain this, we have to go back to the pandemic era.

The pandemic saw a rapid decrease in spending and a massive increase in bank deposits. Due to the uncertainty of the future and lockdowns limiting ways to spend money on recreational activities, like restaurants, bars, and other outlets, many Americans stocked up money in their accounts. In fact, SVB's deposits doubled in 2021 alone, bringing in more money than they could lend out to their clients.

To make a return on their available cash, SVB wanted to invest it, as many banks do. Since they had reached their lending limit, they decided to invest it in U.S. Treasury Securities, which are the government's means of funding itself without using taxation (in a nutshell). These are considered "ultra-safe" investments because they are backed by the "full faith and credit of the federal government."

Unlike other forms of investments, investing in Treasuries means the government will do everything within its legal power to pay back the money used to fund itself. In other words, it is typically very safe... so what happened?

3. Then came the magic cocktail—record-high inflation and rising interest rates...

Interest rates ruined the typically "ultra-safe" investment. Due to 40-year record-high inflation, the Fed lifted rates eight times by a total of 4.25 percentage points in 2022, raising interest rates from 0.25 percent to 4.375 percent. This means the value of U.S. Treasuries investments plummeted rapidly. SVB reported that it lost $1.8 billion due to the decreased value of its Treasuries investments after a year of rising interest rates.

This raises the following question: why didn't SVB just weather the storm and wait for interest rates to decrease? There are two issues with this. The first is that, with so many of their assets held up in Treasuries investments, SVB still wouldn't have enough liquid assets to give their depositors during the bank run.

The second issue is that Treasuries investments have a ten-year limit. In 2021 during the Trump administration, interest rates were at an all-time low of 0.125 percent.

The record-fast increase of interest rates in 2022 caused very little chance for rates to go back down to their historic 2021 lows within ten years for banks to make their money back on their investments.

To avoid this, SVB planned to sell their investments at a loss and re-purchase Treasuries investments at the decreased value, giving them an extra ten years to bet on decreased interest rates in the future.

But people caught on to SVB's plan and didn't want to ride with the risk.

4. Account holders withdrew their money... FAST.

As aforementioned, SVP lost $1.8 billion when it sold its depleted Treasuries investments. While they were betting on being able to re-purchase the devalued securities, hoping that they would go up in value in the future with lowered interest rates, investors were worried about the risk.

Once they made the announcement of their $1.8 billion loss, their stocks began to drop, and venture capitalists warned the companies they invest in to pull out of SVB. This had a snowball effect, leading to a "bank run" of depositors demanding to withdraw their money from their SVB accounts.

This led to the perfect storm: SVB's investment losses coupled with the influx of withdrawals were so immense that regulators had to step in and shut the bank down to protect depositors. The government currently "running" SVB, for all practical purposes, is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC closed SVB on Friday and reopened the bank on Monday, March 13th as the Deposit Insurance Bank of Santa Clara.

5. Some people may lose their money. 

Banks insure accounts with $250,000 or less with FDIC insurance. That means, in cases of bank failure, exactly like this one, the FDIC covers all accounts less than $250,000. The FDIC said SVB customers who had less than $250,000 in their accounts will have access to all of their money when the bank reopens. Since it reopened this week, they should have access to their funds.

However, many of SVB's depositors had more than $250,000 in their accounts—it is Silicon Valley after all. Therefore, their accounts were not covered by FDIC insurance. Will they get their money back? There is a chance that they will not.

It is unclear how much SVB currently has to cover uninsured deposits. It is likely not enough. The FDIC has issued a "Receiver's Certificate" to the uninsured account holders with the amount in their account that is not covered by FDIC insurance.

The FDIC said it will pay some of the uninsured deposits by next week by liquidating any additional assets held by SVB. However, if the liquidated assets are not enough, many of SVB's uninsured account holders could lose their money for good.

6. Is this 2008 all over again?

SVB's collapse was the largest bank failure since 2008, when Washington Mutual failed with $307 billion in assets. Its failure, along with the collapse of the Lehman Brother's investment bank, triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Are we in danger of repeating 2008?

Some argue that we are not in danger of another economic catastrophe, simply because SVB holds less than 1 percent of the nation's assets. However, as Glenn warns, there is a danger of banks repeating the same mistakes as SVP.

SVP wasn't the only bank to use its surplus deposits to invest in U.S. Treasuries, which means that other banks are wrestling with the depleted value of their securities investments due to rising interest rates.

Bank of America, for example, lost $109 billion in their securities investments due to rising interest rates, the most among its peers—and Bank of America is no small fish in the ocean of assets.

Other major banks recorded other massive losses in their securities investments due to rising interest rates. JP Morgan Chase lost $36 billion, Wells Fargo lost $41 billion, Citigroup lost $25 billion, and Goldman Sachs lost $1 billion. If the little banks collapse, will they get the same effort and attention from the federal government as the "big guys?"

The critic may argue that these are still small values given the incredibly large amount of assets held in banks nationwide. However, this is missing the point. Major banks have majorly invested in securities since the pandemic-era skyrocketing rate of deposits. Now those investments are depleted in value.

They can either sell those investments at a loss, or they can wait and hope that they will recover over time. However, if those investments are no longer liquid, what happens when their depositors come knocking? Will they have enough liquid assets to cover a massive bank run? These are the lingering questions that our banks need to address.

As Glenn says, this will impact you—it is only a matter of time. What will you do to prepare?