Earmark Myth – They Don’t Cost Any Money to Taxpayer
10th November 2010
Americans are hearing the talking point that earmarks don’t cost the taxpayers any money. This simply is not true. Citizens Against Government Waste, a Congressional watchdog group, has put out a report on wasteful projects from Fiscal Year 2010. They identify $16.5 billion in pork.
Of course, the whole issue is a red herring. When a legislator can direct general tax revenues into a particular local project, the obvious purpose of which is to improve his standing among his constituents, it changes the governmental appropriation process into a spoils system for which the term ‘corruption’ is perfectly appropriate.