Weekend Editorial Roundup

This weekend, there have been a number of editorials about fiscal and budget policy. Among them:

• USA Today argued for "patching" the estate tax next year, in order to avoid a temporary zero rate in 2010. A one year patch would give Congress time to develop a permanent solution while avoiding the incentive to "Throw Mama from the Train" next year.
• The Philadelphia Inquirer asked where the TARP money is, arguing that the Treasury Department has not been sufficiently transparent and should do more to tell the public how the $700 billion program has been used (we've been tracking it at stimulus.org).
• The New York Times called on policy makers to extend unemployment benefits, and to enact policies designed to reduce unemployment and strengthen the middle class.
• The Washington Post encouraged President Obama to push for Congress to improve the cost-cutting and deficit-reducing measures developed in the Senate Finance Committee health care bill, even as "most of the pressure will be toward giving away more goodies while raising less revenue."