Christmas in February

It wouldn't be Washington without the annual Pork Package from the Senate Finance Committee. Don't worry, America, this pork must be good: it's from Certified Bipartisan Porkers (c).

Christmas comes in mid-February for the Friends of Baucus:

• Feb. 13, 2008: Economic Stimulus Act, $152,000,000,000.
• Feb. 13, 2009: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $787,000,000,000.
• Feb. 11, 2010: "Jobs" bill proposed, initially $85,000,000,000.

It's a great sign of fiscal restraint that after spending a trillion dollars in debt-funded giveaways to their friends and constituencies over the last two years, lawmakers feel like they can only get away with borrowing $85 billion to pork over in this year's Baucunalia.

For those of you who aren't economists, this is how the magic works: the government takes $85 billion in loans that would have otherwise gone to businesses to create jobs. They then give it to other businesses. Those businesses use most of the money to create jobs, and kick back a few percent to the specified Political Action Committees. There's also some waste in the process, of course. But a jobs bill shouldn't destroy too many jobs, on net, and it will help Max Baucus and Charles Grassley get reelected. And that's what is really important to Americans in a recession!