It's likely that the president will propose to extend the payroll tax cut for a period of time in his September speech on the economy. The White House wants stimulus that will pass Congress, and Republicans will only vote for tax cuts. The overlap is temporary tax relief.

Except not all Republicans like the idea. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, a reliable proxy for conservative opinion, said it prefers tax cuts that are "broad-based, immediate and permanent." Rep. Dave Camp, Republican chairman of the House committee responsible for taxes, said "I don't think that's a good idea," because it would increase the deficit. (True enough, but that's the point.)

Progressives claim they've caught the right wing in a lie. The party of lower taxes doesn't like a tax cut that just happens to be a Democratic president's idea of stimulus? The party that won't raise taxes on millionaires suddenly doesn't mind higher payroll taxes on the middle class in 2012?

The position that we should neither cut payroll taxes in 2012 nor raise income taxes ever implies one of three things: (1) President Bush made tax levels perfect in 2003, and they should never change; (2) The deficit is more important than the economy right now; (3) Temporary tax cuts never work. I think these positions are wrong; obviously wrong; and probably wrong: