Senator Jim DeMint on the pork package:

The bill, if it were a country, would have the 15th largest economy in the world — right in between Australia and Mexico, greater than the Gross Domestic Products of Saudi Arabia and Iran put together. And the American people will be forced to borrow 100 percent of the unprecedented $1.2 trillion price tag, including interest. The stimulus bill will cost well over $1 billion dollars for every page it is printed on and $400,000 for every job it hopes to create or save.

Wow. And here’s his alternative:

The idea is simple: first, make the temporary tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 — now set to expire in 2011 — permanent. Short-term tax relief — of the sort envisioned by the Democrats’ plan — does not stimulate economic growth.

It’s the difference between a $1,000 gift one month — which you might put away or use to pay off some credit card debt — and a $1,000-a-month raise, which might get you thinking about buying a house or a new car or taking a summer vacation or starting a new business.

To encourage people to take risks and create new jobs, we must make tax relief for families and small businesses permanent. Recessions are caused by uncertainty that keeps investors on the sidelines. By making low taxes permanent, plans and decisions can be made with an eye toward the future.

With the 2011 tax-bomb defused, our plan will cut income tax rates across the board compared to current law. The top marginal rate — the one paid by most of the small businesses that create new jobs — will fall from 35 percent to 25 percent. It simplifies the code to include only two other brackets, 15 and 10 percent.

Of course, the flaw in the plan is that it empowers individuals, not Washington. In the current climate, that’s enough to doom it right there.