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One of the better wonk blogs out there comes from Peter Orzag, director of the Congressional Budget Office. Today's entry -- actually, the notes he gave in congressional testimony -- is on what kinds of economic stimulus will work best in our sagging economy.

He's not sure we're in a recession -- but he does acknowledge that we are in a period, at the very least, "weak economic growth." And he offers the following principles for good stimulus:

* It must be delivered rapidly.
* It must be temporary.
* And it must be cost-effective.

To that end, he suggests, tax rebate checks -- if they're to happen -- should go to people who are making so little money that they don't actually pay taxes. They're the folks who are most likely to spend the money (instead of save it) thus actually stimulating the economy.

But there's a problem: It's tax season. So getting checks out the door will be difficult.

There's more: Orzag seems to come down mostly on the side of grants to economically troubled states, and a temporary expansion of unemployment and food-stamp benefits. It's worth checking out the whole thing.

Taking a look back at those three principles up top, though, one thing is clear. Making permanent the Bush Administration's tax cuts for top earners has nothing whatsoever to do with this issue. There has been some throat-clearing about it, but that's an issue to be resolved another day; it has nothing to do with our short-term economic outlook.