Now, let me explain the Wall Street scam, subsequent crisis, and bailout in a very brief, but effective way for you:
A thief breaks into your house, steels everything, and leaves you nearly broke. Law enforcement responds by visiting with the thief and the resellers of the thief's stolen goods in a very friendly setting, perhaps lunch at the Four Seasons. Law enforcement then takes the information to government officials who respond by writing the thief and the resellers a check from what is left of your checking account. They decide this too over lunch, perhaps also at the Four Seasons and on your dime.
Then the same government officials declare that a new and better alarm system should be installed in your home and in the home of all Americans, at a high cost to you of course (The reality is that the alarm system worked perfectly, but that does not matter).
The thief and the resellers in turn thank these government officials by contributing to their electoral coffers, so they stay in office to help with future robberies. The alarm companies also thank these same government officials by also contributing to their electoral coffers.
It sounds obscene and seems impossible that such a scam would be taking place, right? You would be outraged if someone who robbed you was rewarded with money from your checking account, right? You would go ballistic if this happened to you, right? Well it is happening to you. This is exactly what is happening to you. The only difference is that you don't realize it because of the confusing nature of how this was done and the jargon used to describe it. Forget derivatives and the other voodoo of it. You were robbed. The robbers are getting rewarded with what is left of your savings. Get it now?
The role of government in the modern era has become rather clear to me: it acts as a broker for the transfer of public money to private hands. There is no actual governing.
Bailout: Taking a trillion from the people to give to the banks to loan back to the people at interest!