Obama Team Weighs New Stimulus

You can hear Senate Republicans preparing their filibuster already: The Obama team is mulling additional economic stimulus, though there is apparently debate whether it should take the shape of tax cuts to small businesses, which would presumably attract Republican support, or ideas that will likely have more economic impact but encounter GOP resistance, like state aid and infrastructure spending. Among the ideas being floated is a cut in the payroll taxes used to fund Medicare and Social Security—an idea Republicans support. Meanwhile, a fight is looming on Capitol Hill over the Bush tax cuts: Democrats want to hold a vote to extend the Bush tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year, but Republicans are opposing any legislation that doesn’t extend the tax cuts for rich families as well.