WEEKLY EDITORIAL RECAP

THURSDAY

FIDDLING WITH THE STIMULUS

Senate Democrats are eagerly tossing the House leadership under the bus by provoking a confrontation with the White House over the economic stimulus package. …

Majority Leader Harry Reid said a version of the bill backed by Senate Finance chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., which removes the income caps at which the rebates begin to phase out — $75,000 for individuals, $150,000 for couples — makes him “want to gag.”

It would be “ill-advised” to give rebates to billionaires such as Warren Buffett, Sen. Reid said. Sen. Baucus has now decided to push a more modest expansion of the income limits. But Sen. Reid’s comments remain amusing on many levels.

In fact, if Congress is serious about stimulating the economy, it makes eminent sense to enact long-term tax reform that provides incentives for entrepreneurs to invest in endeavors that create jobs and wealth. Mr. Buffett may not need a $600 stimulus check, but the fact that it makes many Democrats queasy when they think about letting productive Americans keep more of their own money speaks volumes.

In addition, note how Sen. Reid cleverly uses Mr. Buffett as his poster boy for “the rich,” equating a multi-billionaire with a two-income couple who make $187,000 a year and currently would be ineligible for a rebate. It’s a telling juxtaposition and reveals much about whom, exactly, the Democrats really define as “the rich” when they break out the class-warfare rhetoric. …

Adjusting the income caps to ensure more members of the middle and upper-middle class are eligible may be warranted. But any more tinkering than that in the Senate would be counterproductive.