A couple points:

1.) TARP ($800 billion financial sector rescue package) was not given, it was a loan. The transaction was used as a debt for equity swap, or preferred stock option in the most troubled banks and financial institutions (Citi, BoA, AIG). Given the pennies on the dollar strike price in these contracts, the American taxpayer looks to make out like a bandit. The money will all be payed back....

2.) Stimulus package is a hot topic again. Due to the tax cuts being saved (or paying down debt), the majority of the stimulus (which is just finishing its major accumulation in the sovereign debt market) is ready to be unleashed. This equates to major building projects beginning at the end of the first quarter 2010, which should have a dramatic effect on US capital goods manufacturing as well as provide a major boost for consumer sentiment. But.... there is that talk that a second stimulus is all but necessary due to the massive 1 year spike in unemployment.