Last night, news outlets were reporting that Democrats will cave on paying for an extension of the payroll tax cut with a surtax on millionaires. Even worse, Josh Marshall speculates that instead of a millionaire surtax, it might be paid for with immediate cuts to Medicare.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why exactly does a small tax cut for working middle-class families need to be paid for, while a massive tax cut for the rich doesn’t?

What exactly is it about the payroll tax cut proposal that the Republican object to? Is it that it would help the middle class instead of the super-rich? Or is it that it would help the economy recover? Either way, it’s abhorrent.