Banks create money out of thin air ......

I've known this for a long time, but here's a great video that explains it in simple terms. Worth the 47 minutes of your life.

Paul Grignon's 47-minute animated presentation of "Money as Debt" tells in very simple and effective graphic terms what money is and how it is being created.

Obviously the Gov't knows this too, and why the bailout had to be passed by them.