This stuff is just NOT that complicated.
The U.S.G. overpaid for paper to keep banks solvent. The banks spent some of the money intended to ensure their solvency on bonuses for the very gamblers and fraudsters who helped cause the crisis in the first place.
If the free market determines that a piece of paper is worth $43, and we buy it for $43, that’s not a “bail-out” — it’s an investment. If we pay $100 for the piece of paper worth $43, that is a “bail-out.”
I don’t know how to help you guys Google this. It’s very basic.