What numbers are you comparing though? The headline figure for TARP in the US was $700 billion, but even the GAO audit cannot perfectly trace how much it actually cost, as opportunity cost can&#x27;t be calculated. Financing TARP took resources away from infrastructure projects or other projects for which positive economic externalities apply directly to society, not just bondholders.<p>China has 4x the population of the US. How &quot;big&quot; would the intervention have to be to be stronger than anything in 2008?