Another “Stimulus?”

We jinxed it. We really, really jinxed it.

It was yesterday … flippin’ yesterday … when we said that it was “only a matter of time before we start hearing the drumbeat for Bailout III.”

You know, since Bailouts I, II, and the trillions of dollars in other useless government interventionist measures have worked out so well.

And hey, whaddya know:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that the federal government may have to spend even more money to shore up the nation’s ailing economy, on top of the more than $1.6 trillion so far approved by Congress …

Pelosi’s remarks came after senior House Democrats met behind closed doors with four prominent economists, who praised the actions taken by Washington to ease the effects of a recession that threatens to be the most severe since the 1930s. The $787 billion stimulus package, a $700 billion bailout for the U.S. financial system and President Obama’s proposal to stem the tide of residential foreclosures are all sound policies that should begin to make a difference in the coming months, they told lawmakers.

Still, all four told lawmakers that there is a high probability that more money will be needed later this year to stabilize the banking system and, perhaps, to stimulate economic activity more generally.

“Policymakers need to do more. I don’t think we’re done,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, who has been advising House Democrats. “I think another stimulus package is a reasonable probability, given the way things are going. I think more money for financial stability to shore up the banking system is likely. That’s very likely. And I think more money for foreclosure mitigation may also be necessary at the end of the day.”

God help us.

Pelosi would only tell the Washington Post that “we have to keep the door open to see how this goes,” but the drumbeat is clearly on for Bailout III.

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