The big banks will walk away with the Miss Congeniality Award of the Great Recession -- when it comes to federal bailouts, at least. They grudgingly agreed to take some form of federal assistance -- Mellon Bank took the least, just $3 billion -- in the days following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

As far as the general public is concerned, American International Group wins both the Gold Digger and Most Likely to Stay Married awards after the feds ponied up $185 billion in official bailout money in 2008, before the behemoth insurer fell apart. And it's AIG, more than almost any other action, that will haunt the fed for years to come.

I've made my peace with the bank bailouts as well as the stimulus package hurriedly thrown together as the global economy began to jitter apart. Without them, we'd be looking at a very different world right now.

There's plenty of others to go around, of course, in the wake of the Biggest Financial Debacle Since the Last One. And there will be more to come as the feds try to bring in all the money they've pumped into the system before it can trigger runaway inflation.

In the meantime, however, one fed bailout is set to expire -- quietly, with little fanfare. That's the bailout to help the little guys. You know, us.

As unemployment neared 9 percent nationwide -- it has lately settled at plus 10 percent -- the Obama administration put in place a number of extensions to unemployment benefits. For many, the extensions meant collecting unemployment for nearly two years. But the extensions, which were set to expire Dec. 31, were extended until February -- lawmakers were certain the jobs bill, to which the extensions were attached, would pass by now.

But it hasn't, and those extensions will be summarily eliminated within weeks. On one hand, I'm glad. How long would the federal government consider itself the paycheck of last resort for millions -- particularly given the jobless recovery to many predict? Taxpayers could end up paying for months of extended unemployment benefits.

On the other hand, it's outrageous that the only group without a powerful lobby -- taxpayers' lobbyists are supposed to be their elected representatives; I'm still waiting to see what that looks like -- is the one whose federal bailout withers first.

In the end, given the raft of cascading consequences that come with the rising unemployment rate, we should commit to keeping the unemployed afloat. Sadly, however, it seems the voiceless will once again lose out to larger -- and better funded -- special interests.

Once again, taxpayers collect very little -- except maybe the Gold Star Award for being such good sports about the whole mess.

Annette LaCross is the business editor for the Rockford Register Star.