Congressional Pig Book: Are Earmarks on Their Way Out?
SodaHead News
2012/04/18 13:00:00
|
|
|||||
|
96 votes
|
|
30% | |||
|
226 votes
|
|
70% | |||
Earmarks -- legislative provisions that members of Congress use to direct federal funds or tax breaks to pet projects -- have been sapping taxpayer money for year, but according to the Citizens Against Government Waste's "Congressional Pig Book," those loopholes are nearly vanquished. The report says earmarks are down 98.3% since 2010 (from 9,129 to 152) and the total cost is down 80% (from $16.5 billion to $3.3 billion). But it brings up a new concern.
The book writes, "While the lower number and cost of earmarks are a vast improvement over prior years, transparency and accountability have regressed immeasurably ... [Until a ban is imposed,] taxpayers will be justified in their belief that members of Congress are being creative and deceptive in skirting the moratorium and continuing to obtain earmarks." Do you think earmarks are actually on their way out, or is Congress just getting creative?
The book writes, "While the lower number and cost of earmarks are a vast improvement over prior years, transparency and accountability have regressed immeasurably ... [Until a ban is imposed,] taxpayers will be justified in their belief that members of Congress are being creative and deceptive in skirting the moratorium and continuing to obtain earmarks." Do you think earmarks are actually on their way out, or is Congress just getting creative?
Top Opinion
-
No
+4Not unless they explicitly made earmarks illegal, which I don't think is possible in a republic where representatives are supposed to pursue the interests of their state's and district's constituents. My solution would be to better publicize who Senators & Representatives are getting their campaign donations from and the amounts they are receiving from those donors. Maybe even wear their donors on their jackets the same as NASCAR drivers. The bigger the donor, the bigger the logo. Something to give the constituents a constant visible reminder of who exactly "owns" a particular Congress critter. Something to shame those Congress critters for betraying the public in favor of special interests.
The dollar has not lost 90% value. That is a myth. You look at a product like milk in 1913, it cost around 30cents wages were $1300 a year. Now its $4 a gallon and median income is $30k. The living standards of then compared to now are 100 times better too.
WE the PEOPLE(I know I'm on my soap box now) need to BEAT THE LIVING SH@T out of Washington!!!
These scumbags are robbing us blind, living like royalty, breaking all the laws they expect US to obey...IT IS DISGUSTING!
They are the pigs at our trough, sad and cliche' as that is.
Nonsense. Government spending has never been cut. It has always relentlessly increased. The only thing that has ever been cut is the RATE of growth of government spending.
Uh, obviously because we don't have the money to do it. When you don't have enough money to pay your bills, do you decide to start an expensive remodeling project on your house?
And those "services" you say benefit the working class and poor are paid for ENTIRELY by the "rich." People making over $200,000 per year pay 95% of all taxes. That's a fact. So take that OWS crap and cram it up your crack.
And yes people making over 200k do pay 95% of all taxes, while the OWS pay nothing.
I'm sure you think that was a pithy statement, but it's a completely nonsensical statement.