I am not quite as cynical as you are but I suppose what you suggest is possible. Another problem is that the so called real economy is pretty much hollowed out. Regardless, the only people bailed out so far are multimillionaires.

Reading the coverage of the bailout debate before it passed...there was concern among some congressmen about the fact that there were no controls over how the money was used. But when they voiced their concerns, Paulson said it was a dealbreaker. He insisted on no limits, no controls, or Bush would veto it.

Why? And why would congress go along with that? IMO, there had to be a compelling reason. It's not like they didn't notice or didn't know what would happen.