The part of the stimulus objections the Times does not get

In an editorial on the objections of some GOP governors to a portion of the stimulus bill on unemployment insurance shows a short term memory loss on the problems of unfunded mandates. True, the current payments would be funded, but they would expire in two years when the states would have to raise employment taxes to cover the expenditures. Most people outside the NY Times Editorial Board recognize that raising business taxes at a time of high unemployment will only lead to more unemployment.

The Editorial Board ignores that argument which was clearly made by the governors and suggest that the unemployment spending will stimulate the economy so that the future expenditures will be avoided. This is wishful thinking. The higher unemployment expenditures will create a disincentive to find new work. They will create greater dependency which is exactly what Democrats and liberals want.

The Times looks at polling data showing there is public support for this bad policy. That suggest to me that the Republican governors are standing on principal and not political posturing. They are looking to avoid the situation that California has put itself in.