lickety jackblog

if earmarks were banned, government would shut down

seriously. and this is the first piece i've read on the issue that gets it more or less right.

i'm just as pissed about earmarks as the next guy, and i'm all for lowering or capping the amount allotted to each member to the extent it can be done. and by all means, the projects and sponsoring members should be clearly available to the public (which was nowhere near the case when i was scoring them for my old boss).

but appropriations bills are too big, have by definition too many programs, that they will not pass if there's no carrot in there for individual members to sweeten the deal. it's absolute, unequivocal hogwash to believe otherwise.

bush tried that shit in 2005 with the labor-HHS appropriations bill. it was defeated by a laughable, laughable margin and subsequently re-earmarked.

if mccain had his way, government would cease to operate. it could no more spend than collect taxes. anarchy would rain down like manna, and jazon zeh would be unanimously elected prime minister of Earthachussets.

on second thought, vote mccain.

posted by the cold cowboy @ 4:10 PM