You are correct in your preception that this bailout money is not free money. It is a case of money being taken out of one of the taxpayer's pockets and put into another.
The states will come up with this money by "selling" bonds -- which means they are going to borrow the money because Lord knows they ain't got that kind of cash sitting in a bank somewhere. But, for them to take out a loan, just as when you and I try and get a loan, they will need to have collateral. The collateral will be Federal Reserve funds. But, the Federal Reserve only prints and steals money, they do not earn money in any sort of legal manner. The funds at the Federal Reserve (which is not federal at all, but a private gang of bankers), are, on paper anyway, money borrowed from sources such as China or the Saudis.
But, the Fed Res insists that sources such as China and the Saudis loan us funds based on the USD -- which the Fed Res can print up anytime it feels like it. Note that the USD has not been backed by gold for many years. The Fed Res then turns around and prints up some more USD -- monopoly money - which it uses to pay back interest to the Chinese and the Saudis.
The Chinese and the Saudis make out by capitalizing on the make believe value of the USD. And, the Fed Res makes out by collecting interest from various state and federal agencies -- which is where ALL of our tax dollars actually go -- on the pretense that it is using our taxes to pay interest to the investors (sources such as the Chinese and the Saudis) who loaned the US government money. But, in truth, the bankers at the Fed Res just pocket our tax dollars and print more to give to the Chinese and the Saudis.
This is nothing more than an elaborate pyramid scheme, with the Fed Res bankers sitting pretty in the cornerstone [the holy of holies of their false religion based on gross materialism - Rev. 13:17], the Chinese and Saudis in the middle [Rev. 18:15], and with John Q. Public at the bottom paying for everything.
Fed - The Federal Reserve (Fed) Steals Money From American Citizens
Wake up, Children of Zion.