…you (and I and every other person in the U.S.) now own a very, very large chunk of Wall Street’s financial sector:

• Bear Stearns (We guarantee $30 billion)
• IndyMac (FDIC insurance kicks in as bank fails)
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (government takeover… no matter what the spin)
• AIG (same)

Cost to you and I and everyone else… depends on who is counting, of course, but if the tab is less than a couple of trillion(!) dollars I am going to be elated. And, very surprised….