To the person that left me bad rep for this comment: I am Canadian. We are not all American. In Canada, people were critical of the lack of government intervention during the great depression. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression_in_Canada#Government_reaction
Actually much of what is being done is similar to the methods used to stabilize the economy during the great depression. Dealing with this crisis will prove to be more difficult. With a global economy, each country actually has less control over their own destiny. When Bush gave out $150 billion in a tax stimulus package I was/am a critic. The problem is that much of the $150 billion was spent purchasing products, most of which are made in China. For each tax stimulus dollar that was spent on a product, maybe $.30 at most benefited the USA. The other $.70 benefits the manufacturer of the product and their host country. The tax stimulus plan at best allowed some to pay down their bills while helping dock workers, truckers, and stock boys to keep the store shelves stocked. And box stores benefited from this as well. The real economic impact was given to China, who employs higher skilled workers to manufacture the products we consume. As far as I am concerned the USA can not buy/spend its way out of this mess. That's how we got here in the first place. This economic crisis will pass, but only after the overall standard of living of Americans is reduced significantly. The same most likely applies to other countries that are heavy importers as well. What we are seeing now is a massive transfer in wealth and economic power. China will rise, while many other countries will see their standard of living reduced and their economic power significantly diminished.