Where did all the bailout money come from?

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KAI RYSSDAL: The government's been throwing cash around willy nilly to do all these bailouts. JOHN DIMSDALE: To help pay for these bailouts, the government sells securities. And right now, there's plenty of demand because those securities are considered safe in the midst of all the turmoil. For example, today the Treasury Department auctioned $45 billion in short-term IOUs. They'll be bought back in only 35 days. Is there a limit to the government's largesse? Not as long as people are confident the government will pay its bills, says Wharton Business school professor Jeremy Siegel. JEREMY SIEGEL: The government cannot run out of money. Go into your wallet and take a look at what you've got in it. It's called Federal Reserve Notes. Those are under control of the Federal Reserve. Do you notice that they don't say they are backed by gold. They are not backed by silver. They don't have to have anything behind them except the full faith and confidence of the government. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/09/17/pm_fed_cash/ Our money comes out of thin air. I encourage you to watch this two hour video on how the Federal Reserve works. They are the power behind the politicians. They rule, not us, not the government. And they control all of us. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912