Well, everyone in Washington was just deflated after the “Emergency Economic Stabilization” bill failed in the U. S. House. But fortunately, we have the Senate to come up with the most obvious solution to the impasse: more spending!

The new bill — much bigger and more costly than the original for its addition of tax breaks — has been crafted in a way to overcome objections in a resistant House.

What’s new, since a sharply divided House voted 228-205 to scuttle the first plan on Monday:

— A dramatically higher cap on insurance that the federal government provides for individual bank depositors – lifting Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection to $250,000 per account.

— Also: Tax breaks for individuals and businesses alike, including relief for more than 20 million middle-income taxpayers subjected to an Alternative Minimum Tax that boosts their tax bills.

How much in tax breaks, you ask? A pittance: $150 billion. Because that’s what Americans were really concerned about — that the government wasn’t spending enough.

The more I read, the more I’m swayed that this bailout plan isn’t such a great idea.