Posted on 04/26/2008 10:57:18 AM PDT by The_Republican
Although the House and Senate have both defeated a moratorium on earmarks, the debate about direct congressional grants rages on. And generally absent is any mention of the pressing needs that these grants have helped so many of our nation's communities meet.
Are programs to reduce gang violence a good use of taxpayer funds? How about keeping sewage out of local streams? Or fixing unsafe roads and bridges before another tragedy?
By any reasonable standard, nearly all congressionally directed grants would be considered a good use of taxpayer funds.
Local officials nationwide have a common goal: providing residents with public services in the most cost-effective way. Local governments' primary source of funds is the taxes citizens pay.
In addition to local taxes, Americans send more than $1 trillion in federal taxes each year to Washington to fund projects that localities cannot undertake alone: building highways, providing for defense and so on. Some federal programs are designed to return a portion of that tax revenue to local governments to help them serve their residents.
According to the Office of Management and Budget, for fiscal 2008, members of Congress secured more than $10 billion for non-defense projects in their districts.
Most of that money will be spent on infrastructure improvements, economic development initiatives, public safety enhancements and environmental cleanups -- projects that serve a public good and will benefit the citizens, whom lawmakers were elected to serve.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, such congressional grants do not increase federal spending but only help to guide how this funding is directed. For fiscal 2008, Congress held to the total discretionary spending caps that President Bush demanded. So congressional grants did not add one dollar to federal spending or to the deficit.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Whatta loada BS.
That last paragraph - PEE YOUUUUU!
——this is about the most idiotic piece of hogwash I have seen yet today-—
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Sen. Jim DeMint put together a database, 6-700 pages, of earmarks. Pretty informative and you can find it on Google.
Of course, I doubt the Moe, Curly, and Larry writing team at WP ever heard of it or cared to.
“earmarks” are just another form of the greatest political lie that goes on this country
that lie is that the federal treasury represents some magical pot of gold that came from somewhere besides your state, somewhere besides your community, somewhere besides your pocket - it doesn’t
there is no “national economy”, it’s a statistical sum of the economies of the states; there is no “state economy”, it’s a statistical sum of the economies of your communities
there is no money to be had at any level of government that was not taken out of your pocket, out of your community IN THE FIRST PLACE
most all “federal funding” for “state and local” items is a political shell game and nothing more
your local and state politicians tell you they are going to keep your taxes down
then when they want to “fund” an item they think you will not approve a local tax increase for, they get their state representative to put it in the “state budget”
after some time, if not immediately, the continuation of that “funding” requires your state taxes to go up
before that happens, and even after it does, your local politician campaigns on the issue that he kept your local taxes down, while the state politician campaigns on the issue that he brought you someone else’s money from “state funds” - when in fact, it all came out of your pocket anyway
at times this whole scam is transferred to the federal level, with federal politicians campaigning that they brought into your state, into your communities some of that magic “federal money” that dropped from the sky - when in fact that “federal money” was first removed from your state, removed from your community, removed from your pocket
we should cut out all “federal” funding for “state and local” items, reduce the federal taxes in equal measure and, by that means force greater transparency on government closest to us
instead of promising manna from heaven, they’d have to get voter approval for greater local tax increases
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