Free Republic

Taxes: On the eve of President Obama's first State of the Union address, two Democratic congressmen are advising him to extend the Bush tax cuts instead of letting them expire. Now that's a stimulus. We hear that the administration is considering taking a more populist tack as it sails the choppy political waters of 2010. Some of President Obama's plans reportedly include several tax tidbits for the "middle class," including a doubling of the child care tax credit for families below $85,000 in income, and $1.6 billion for child care and a cap on student loan payments. Such transparent populism...

Fiscal Policy: The more we hear about the House and Senate alternatives to the Bush tax cut plan, the more we're convinced the House's approach is superior.In fact, there really isn't much of a choice. The Senate's $350 billion product is what you'd expect from a deeply divided body trying to propitiate all interests while satisfying none. It's a mishmash — and (in hiking some taxes to cut others, for example) a self-defeating mishmash at that.The $550 billion House plan, on the other hand, is a well-thought-out piece of legislation that improves on what the president came up with, whether...