Should I be confident about the bailout when the Treasury dept says "we just wanted..a really large number"?

"A really big number" obviously didn't instill a lot of confidence in the American voters either. Plus, there were no real guarantees that the really big number that they chose would accomplish the goals of returning liquidity in the credit market and stabilizing the economy. There are an awful lot of other economists who are highly respected who have suggested there are other means of solving these problems that weren't properly vetted. Maybe you are right, a return to a simple cash economy will help us straighten up and fly right or maybe they are right we will plunge into economic disaster...there are no guarantees.