First, I think saying "it didn't work" is meaningless -- we really don't know if it did or did not save us from disaster...

What we do know factually is that it cost us vastly less than the worst case forecasters (and present day shrill voices) would have you believe.

If I have a particular issue, it's that there was not sufficient punitive measures incorporated. CEOs/Bank Officers of bailed out banks should have been PERSONALLY FINED -- say their last 2 years salaries+bonuses and/or put into prison for a year.

I also believe we went SOFT on the regulation of Wall Street -- in retrospect I believe we'll view that as a missed opportunity to have something good come out of the collapse.