Payroll Tax Fiasco - Again

Not content to aid Obama' s re-election, Republicans are jeopardizing their chances of retaining the House of Representatives by showing no principle in the fight over the payroll tax temporary reduction. It seemed like a weak sequel to their December foolishness. Since it was clear that they were always going to cave on a deal to continue to blow a hole in Social Security's finances, what principles were they standing for that got in the way of a deal.

Not that the Democrats acted much better, but they seem to have won the media battle. Democrats were talking up a surtax on those earning over $1 million as a way to offset the lost revenue.

Of course, none of this is sensible policy. But neither party operates by any fixed set of principles, so how can we expect any sensible outcome.