No one knows that taxpayers will have to pay anything for any of this. It's possible they'll end up ahead. The assets were/are there to cover depositors. The timing of the asset liquidation/redemption is the problem, and only the "bank of last resort" can help avert contagion from skittish depositors, mass layoffs, and pointless disruption.

As said above: would you prefer to see hundreds or thousands of small companies fail, their employees go on unemployment insurance, etc.?