Would-be GOP Presidential Candidates for 2012

Let's play a little guessing game, shall we?

Who is considering running for the GOP nomination in 2012?

I think that Palin may. Ick. Let's just not talk about that now.

I'm also thinking Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

You see, they're all making noise about not taking some of the stimulus package.

Apparently, there's a provision in the stimulus package that provides additional money for unemployment compensation. In order to qualify for the funds, states have to accept mandates about which workers are eligible for unemployment - sometimes, mandates that exceed those already in law as states compete in the desperate race to the bottom to attract business.

Now, the stimulus package provides funds to cover the extra mandates for roughly three years. However, when the federal money runs out, states would be left with no choice other than to raise unemployment taxes on business. And God forbid we raise business taxes - you know, when businesses have to pay taxes, they don't create jobs and they leave the state and they leave the country and they hire Martians that will work for .01 a month with no OSHA regulation or mandated breaks and... you get the point.

But wait? Why is there "no choice" but to raise unemployment taxes? Couldn't state laws to amended to exclude those new categories of workers eligible for unemployment in three years? Jindal apparently doesn't think so, but others disagree and say that a sunset provision could be put into the state law changes.

I can hear the stump speeches now: "I made the hard choices, and rejected money from the pork-laden stimulus package because it would have required a tax increase on businesses, and would therefore have been bad for workers. It wasn't popular, but I stuck to my principles."

Thankfully, I don't think it's going to work. People are going to ask (and rightfully so) "So, where are the hoards of businesses that flew these crushing unemployment tax increases in other states and fled to Louisiana/South Carolina/Mississippi?" I don't think they'll be there.