Portman wants a new holiday.

And since it includes more money in my pocket, I'm all for it.

Kevin over at OPO was the first to get my attention re: OH SEN candidate Rob Portman's latest proposal:

The Cincinnati Republican spoke in Cleveland Friday afternoon. Among his proposals was one that he maintains would jump-start both hiring, and spending.

Portman said “to spur immediate investment by employers and encourage consumption by employees; I support a one year payroll tax holiday. Beginning immediately...for workers and employers on the first $50,000 of income.”

Upon first hearing of the idea, I recalled reading a post from the Tax Foundation blog that discussed some of the problems with such a proposal. It pushed the idea that a payroll tax cut wouldn't be enough to spur the economy back into gear.

Well, I decided to ask Jessica Towhey, Portman's press secretary, about these concerns. Her response:

Critics are missing the point...clearly this won't "repair" the damage done by the Strickland-Fisher administration in Ohio, and it’s not intended to be silver bullet – there isn’t one “silver bullet.” This is a way to bring some relief to small businesses and working men and women with a small amount of the unspent money that was used for those institutions deemed too big to fail.

Well first off, any policy that pulls my tax dollars away from the "too big to fail" institutions is already a winner in my book. And putting that same cash back into the hands of those who earned it in the first place seals the deal.

Props to Portman. Maybe one of Ohio's GOP representatives in Congress could give the idea a little more publicity and introduce a bill in the House or Senate. Sure, it has no chance in hell with the crew we have in there now - but it deserves to be heard.