Mitch Daniels: This is a one-time bailout

Yesterday, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels met with the Indianapolis Star's editorial board and made his priorities clear: don't spend the stimulus $ to create open-ended programs -- the federal cash dump should be viewed as a one-time deal.

The Star agrees:

The danger of launching new programs, of course, is that the state would be saddled with ongoing costs long after the federal dollars run out.

They also support his push for targeted tax cuts and government reform:

Daniels argues, and he has economic principle on his side, that targeted tax cuts have a better chance of spurring job growth than outright spending. In fact, President Barack Obama wants to include up to $300 billion in federal tax cuts in the stimulus package. On the state level, legislators could temporarily peel back taxes on businesses on grounds that the private sector is the real engine of job creation....

Finally, it's critical that the federal bailout not be allowed to undercut efforts to shrink the size of local government or press for efficiencies in how school districts operate. Indiana taxpayers have long been burdened with an inefficient and antiquated system of local government.