Pork politics just plain indefensible

OC Register ^ | 1/21/04 | Gary M. Galles

[NormsRevenge]

On Tuesday, the Senate's first order of business was to try to pass a cloture vote on the fiscal 2004 budget, four months late and less than two weeks before President Bush submits his fiscal 2005 request. The vote failed due to some last-minute haggling, but the bill's passage in coming days is seen as inevitable.

[NormsRevenge]

Clarification

The first paragraph of Doug Gamble's column Tuesday was incorrectly punctuated, as if it were a quote from Gray Davis. Here's how the humorous column should have begun:

Political life can be brutal. It's a life of peril and pitfalls where even years of success can't prevent a plunge from the penthouse to the basement. At least that's what I was told in Los Angeles the other day by my taxi driver, Gray Davis.

[NormsRevenge]

Gary M. Galles is a Pepperdine University economics professor.

[antiRepublicrat]

Remember, this is our Republican dominated Congress stealing our money, and our Republican president will sign it.

[lilylangtree]

Definition of pork politics--See Sens. Robert "Sheets" Byrd and Ted Stevens.

[AbsoluteJustice]

"The $820 billion omnibus spending bill, with $328 billion of discretionary spending, is larded with record amounts, with its over 7,000 earmarks, or "member projects," setting a record for a single bill, and also pushing the annual total to over 10,000 for the first time ever."

You are correct and you might want to add that most voting on it to appease each other and pat each other on the back will read maybe 5 pages of the budget and still vote yes on it. They should be REQUIRED to read it front to back, highlighting, "Pet projects" and dumping them. This in itself should be returned BACK TO the TAXPAYERS as a tax rebate which I could only imagine would be thousands of dollars individually brought back to families who pay the burden.

[Wolfie]

"Pork Politics"

From the Department of Redundancy Department.

[rudypoot]

A key reason it will pass is its staggering amount of pork. The $820 billion omnibus spending bill, with $328 billion of discretionary spending, is larded with record amounts, with its over 7,000 earmarks, or "member projects," setting a record for a single bill, and also pushing the annual total to over 10,000 for the first time ever.

And yet all democrats want to raise taxes. I noticed that this $328 billion in pork is pert near equal to the deficit of last year. Coincidence?

[cogitator]

For "fun", go to the "Pig Book" Web site created by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), and see where the pork is. They haven't done 2004 yet (because the spending bills aren't finished), but 2003 is instructive.

View 2003 Pig Book by State/Appropriation/Keyword

I recommend VA/HUD/Independent Agencies for some entertainment, such as:

RI - $315,000 - Providence College for the construction of a cultural arts center (Economic Development Initiative)

But that's peanuts. Let's talk some real money:

MS - $855,000 - Mississippi Tribe of Choctaw for the development of a Choctaw Veterans Memorial (Economic Development Initiative)

Still under $1 million. What amazes me is the number of water/sewer projects; obviously one strategy for keeping state and local government budgets down for projects like these is to let the deficit-spending Feds pay for them. There are numerous items like this:

PA - $900,000 - Upper Allen Township, Cumberland County, to increase sewer treatment capacity by repairing inflow and infiltration problems (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)

I guess this is HUD-related? Who the heck knows?

Moving down to the bigger ticket items:

ME - $1,800,000 - Construction of a Gulf of Maine Laboratory at the Gulf of Maine Aquarium Foundation (NASA)

(I thought NOAA was the agency responsible for in-water oceans research, not NASA.)

Here's a gem:

AL - $2,700,000 - North Alabama Science Center in Huntsville for the acquisition, networking, and operation of additional immersive reality science laboratories on behalf of the Alabama Science Center Alliance (NASA)

or

HI - $3,600,000 - The Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center at the University of Hawaii, Hilo (NASA)

and

FL - $7,875,000 - Southwest Florida Water Management District for continuation of the Tampa Bay Reservoir Project (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)

and of course

NY - $19,000,000 - Mars program to cover recent cost increases (NASA)

(Well gee, if you can't budget for them, just ask a friendly senator to kick in a few bucks to cover the overage)

Etc. Pretty amazing.

[cogitator]

For "fun", go to the "Pig Book" Web site created by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), and see where the pork is. They haven't done 2004 yet (because the spending bills aren't finished), but 2003 is instructive.

View 2003 Pig Book by State/Appropriation/Keyword

I recommend VA/HUD/Independent Agencies for some entertainment, such as:

RI - $315,000 - Providence College for the construction of a cultural arts center (Economic Development Initiative)

But that's peanuts. Let's talk some real money:

MS - $855,000 - Mississippi Tribe of Choctaw for the development of a Choctaw Veterans Memorial (Economic Development Initiative)

Still under $1 million. What amazes me is the number of water/sewer projects; obviously one strategy for keeping state and local government budgets down for projects like these is to let the deficit-spending Feds pay for them. There are numerous items like this:

PA - $900,000 - Upper Allen Township, Cumberland County, to increase sewer treatment capacity by repairing inflow and infiltration problems (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)

I guess this is HUD-related? Who the heck knows?

Moving down to the bigger ticket items:

ME - $1,800,000 - Construction of a Gulf of Maine Laboratory at the Gulf of Maine Aquarium Foundation (NASA)

(I thought NOAA was the agency responsible for in-water oceans research, not NASA.)

Here's a gem:

AL - $2,700,000 - North Alabama Science Center in Huntsville for the acquisition, networking, and operation of additional immersive reality science laboratories on behalf of the Alabama Science Center Alliance (NASA)

or

HI - $3,600,000 - The Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center at the University of Hawaii, Hilo (NASA)

and

FL - $7,875,000 - Southwest Florida Water Management District for continuation of the Tampa Bay Reservoir Project (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)

and of course

NY - $19,000,000 - Mars program to cover recent cost increases (NASA)

(Well gee, if you can't budget for them, just ask a friendly senator to kick in a few bucks to cover the overage)

Etc. Pretty amazing.

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks for the link!

[AbsoluteJustice]

Bump for later read and to definately write my Congress critters on pointing out the continual deficit spending.

[sinclair]

“Bump for later read and to definately write my Congress critters on pointing out the continual deficit spending. “

Write your congress critters? You think writing to your congress critters is going to accomplish anything? You want to accomplish something meaningful? Hang a couple of the bastids. Then you might get the others attention.

[reelfoot]

Impress your conservative supporters, Mr. President: get your veto pen ready.