The government bailout of the banking industry hasn't been nearly as expensive as many predicted. Thanks to the rising stock market and strong demand for various warrants, the tab for the bailout so far, according to Treasury Department (Treasury news) estimates, is running at about $90 billion. That compares with the $250 billion in projected taxpayer costs about a year ago.

This is good news from the fiscal perspective, and the news will likely get even better. As more warrants are sold--assuming good prices--and as more companies pay off their TARP (TARP news) obligations. But MarketWatch notes this may also be bad news. The crisis seems to be passing, and we have essentially the same system in place. In fact, the industry may be accustomed to the power of bailouts, which means that too-big-to-fail will be even harder to banish. The top banks are even bigger now, and there are still a lot of people suffering from the excesses of the boom years. The real issue is the reform effort that is on going now. For some, a good reform effort will make it all worth it.

For more:
- here's the commentary
- here's a look at the reform proposals 

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