didn't totally collapse because the federal government instead handed everyone a check for $67,000, which will be the cost to each and every one of us of bailing-out AIG, Goldman, Citi, Wells Fargo, etc, etc. Those institutions were nationalized, mortage foreclosures were halted, and a single-payer health system was passed in early Spring. The directors of 27 of the largest hedge funds and global banks who precipitated the crisis are awaiting trial. George W. Bush and Richard Cheney have been indicted and are being held without bail in Alexandria, VA.

That injection of personal income, and a massive federal jobs, education and green investments program led to a lasting rebound in middle-class incomes. The only violence was a significant uptick in suicides among Right-wing talk radio commentators. So, no, I don't think bailing out Wall Street was worth it.