PORK-BARREL SPENDING

[Scar My Machine]

I thought, since there are those that are up in arms over a few private citizens using their food stamp cards to buy chips and carbonated beverages that it might be a good idea to look at the other side and examine those (our government officials) that waste (our) money on things that are not NEEDS but rather WANTS.

ELIMINATE PORK-BARREL SPENDING

Pork-barrel spending continues to be a long-honored Washington tradition. Year after year, politicians debase the political process by inserting personal projects into appropriations and authorization bills to try to win favor back home. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has documented more than $100 billion in appropriations pork since 1991.

Pork is the funding of a project that trips one of CAGW's seven criteria: requested by only one chamber of Congress; not specifically authorized; not awarded competitively; not requested by the President; greatly exceeds the President's budget request or the previous year's funding; not the subject of congressional hearings; or serves only a local or special interest. In short, pork-barreling is the appropriation of money in circumvention of established budgetary procedures.

Examples of pork-barrel spending include:

$375,000,000 for an unrequested and unneeded amphibious assault ship in the state of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.)

$700,000 for the Admiral Theater in Bremerton, Washington, the district of House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), despite a $4.2 million privately-funded face lift

$500,000 for the Olympic Tree Program in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Many dismiss pork as a drop in the bucket in relation to the size of the federal budget. The pro-porkers claim that the real problem is entitlement spending, so pork is insignificant. This dismissal of pork as "small potatoes" ignores the fact that pork is the root cause of some of our nation's most debilitating fiscal and political pathologies, and $100 billion shouldn't be considered insignificant in anyone's book.

Appropriations bills are not the only places where pork shows up. The 1999 Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) is a prime example of a pork-laden authorization bill. Demonstration projects totaling $9.3 billion were incorporated into the final TEA-21 to ensure a solid support base for passage. "National priority" transportation projects funded in TEA-21 include a parking garage, a pedestrian walkway, and highway beautification.

Pork-barrel spending amounts to nothing more than bribe-taking, where politicians use their constituents' tax dollars to support their reelection. It's a game of hide-and-seek that harms our representative form of democracy and threatens our fiscal stability.

Wow, a $100 billion dollars is wasted away (that be your dollars people) and there are people that are upset about some soda purchases?

It would make more sense to be upset about our government wasting billions of dollars and putting us all in debt, wouldn't it?

Or is it easier to get upset about bridge card users that are doing some want purchases which is how much different than a politicians want (not need) purchases?

The difference everyone, can be measured in the billions.

Just a little food for thought, no pun intended.

[Epic_Fail_Guy]

what i find funny is bush was spending ungodly amounts of money on this stupid iraq war without any activists saying wtf on the level we have with obama, now we got these teabagger guys crying over everything about him. He's clearly nowhere near as bad as bush in spending or anything else, but these hypocritical idiots continue to politically troll hard.

And trust me, I know trolling when I see it.

Edited October 15, 2010 by Epic_Fail_Guy

[Epic_Fail_Guy]

Also, seing Pork barrel spending.. made me think of bacon and other juicy meat products from the pig.

Now i'm fucking hungry...

[Lillylu29]

Man you once again hit the nail on the head, this is what I was thinking about...

There are way more important things to worry about then a soda pop.

[Glory13666]

I agree that this is a much bigger waste of money than pop. Thanks for posting

[torn asunder]

well, no shit the govt. spends too much money on stupid things - what does that have to do with the topic at hand? is everyone saying that we shouldn't address this issue until we work on shit that's so rampant it will likely never be fixed? what's wrong with addressing smaller things we can actually make progress on, rather than letting all the small shit slide forever?

good lord, let's at least get *something* accomplished, that's the way i look at it.

[creatureofthenyte]

what i find funny is bush was spending ungodly amounts of money on this stupid iraq war without any activists saying wtf on the level we have with obama, now we got these teabagger guys crying over everything about him. He's clearly nowhere near as bad as bush in spending or anything else, but these hypocritical idiots continue to politically troll hard.

And trust me, I know trolling when I see it.

Nowhere near as bad as Bush in spending or anything else!!!???

1.3 Trillion dollars of national debt, and 9.6% unemployment, "clearly nowhere near as bad as Bush" !!??

Clearly sir, the left wing politicians and left wing media have you perilously fooled.

Oh and could you PLEASE STOP with the bigoted Teabagger comments??

Those kinds of terms and comments are Not neccesary.

[Epic_Fail_Guy]

Nowhere near as bad as Bush in spending or anything else!!!???

1.3 Trillion dollars of national debt, and 9.6% unemployment, "clearly nowhere near as bad as Bush" !!??

Clearly sir, the left wing politicians and left wing media have you perilously fooled.

Oh and could you PLEASE STOP with the bigoted Teabagger comments??

Those kinds of terms and comments are Not neccesary.

most of that is the aftermath of bush guy. And the war in iraq.. several trillion.. i can't remember the exact number off hand but if you wanna compare big spending, bush is in the lead by a long shot.

And don't label me a lefty or righty, the fact that bush is republican and obama is a democrat have nothing to do with my opinion.

Jeez.. you expect the clusterfucks bush caused to go away with him magically as soon as we get a new president?

[creatureofthenyte]

most of that is the aftermath of bush guy. And the war in iraq.. several trillion.. i can't remember the exact number off hand but if you wanna compare big spending, bush is in the lead by a long shot.

And don't label me a lefty or righty, the fact that bush is republican and obama is a democrat have nothing to do with my opinion.

Jeez.. you expect the clusterfucks bush caused to go away with him magically as soon as we get a new president?

Your comments sounded Democrat-ish to me, I'm sorry if it sounded like I was labeling you; I wasn't intending to.

At the end of the day, the bottom line is that Pork barrel spending needs to stop.

Or at very least, get greatly reduced; it is Not sustainable.

Yes, I know that both parties are guilty of it.

I don't expect the problems that Bush caused(and that Obama has made Substantially Worse), to magically go away. Our current president Did campaign on "change we can believe in". Changing the country for worse and not for the better, is Not change we can believe in.

[KatRN05]

Your comments sounded Democrat-ish to me

I found this comment to be so childish, along with your comment "Clearly, you have been brain-washed by the Left-wing politicians and media". Do you have any better arguments? It just seems to me you are constantly repeating stuff that I've heard on Hannity, Rush and O'Reilly? I'm sorry, it's just comments like that, that just piss me off to no end. The same goes for the "tea-bagger" crap.

I consider myself to be pretty moderate. I hate to say it but yeah Obama did inherit Bush's crap, well Bush inherited Clinton's crap too. It's something that has constantly been repeating. It's nothing new. I'm sick of politics in general, every politician out there, right or left, have their own fucking agenda. Do you really think they care all that much about what we think? Have they really listened to what we've had to say?

Edited October 15, 2010 by KatRN05

[creatureofthenyte]

I found this comment to be so childish, along with your comment "Clearly, you have been brain-washed by the Left-wing politicians and media". Do you have any better arguments? It just seems to me you are constantly repeating stuff that I've heard on Hannity, Rush and O'Reilly?

I consider myself to be pretty moderate. I hate to say it but yeah Obama did inherit Bush's crap, well Bush inherited Clinton's crap too. It's something that has constantly been repeating. It's nothing new. I'm sick of politics in general, every politician out there, right or left, have their own fucking agenda. Do you really think they care all that much about what we think? Have they really listened to what we've had to say?

In about 18 days from now, we have the opportunity to Show them what we think.

[Hellion]

I'll stick with being a realist,most if not all lawmakers are nothing but corrupt POS,I don't stand on either side nor the libtard side either.

Government waste is the problem.nough said.

[KatRN05]

I'll stick with being a realist,most if not all lawmakers are nothing but corrupt POS,I don't stand on either side nor the libtard side either.

Government waste is the problem.nough said.

I just can't decide who the fuck to vote for. I feel like I'm battling Satan for my soul every fucking time I have to go vote.

[Epic_Fail_Guy]

Your comments sounded Democrat-ish to me, I'm sorry if it sounded like I was labeling you; I wasn't intending to.

At the end of the day, the bottom line is that Pork barrel spending needs to stop.

Or at very least, get greatly reduced; it is Not sustainable.

Yes, I know that both parties are guilty of it.

I don't expect the problems that Bush caused(and that Obama has made Substantially Worse), to magically go away. Our current president Did campaign on "change we can believe in". Changing the country for worse and not for the better, is Not change we can believe in.

I can agree with your bottom line stuff. But honestly, i didn't care if obama or mccain got in office, either of them would be better than bush.

But to deny that obama is giving a fuck and TRYING to improve things is stupid.. wich is what the tea partiers actions always seem to point out, that's why i dislike them.. they're actions say they just hate obama and nothing else matters. I'm just wondering where the activist group was when bush was blowing money AND LIVES in a pointless war?

[kat (1)]

I just can't decide who the fuck to vote for. I feel like I'm battling Satan for my soul every fucking time I have to go vote.

LMAO, that whole gloom and doom feeling, like if you check the wrong box fire and brimstone and shit's gonna start falling out the sky.

[Slogo]

Why is everybody against pork barrel spending?

If I had more money I would do it too. A WHOLE BARREL OF PORK.

Makes me a happy and satisfied Kevin

Edited October 16, 2010 by Slogo

[candyman]

Yeah we should be worried about the soda thing...and all of the small things like that. Those are the little things that allow us to work up to the bigger problem IF we can take care of all the little bullshit.

It doesn't matter who is in office...every government spends way too much money anyways. It has been going on since the government came into being if you had not noticed. If they don't spend the money on one stupid thing they spend it on another. One thing may be good to you but stupid to someone else or it could even be the other way around...but in the end it is probably stupid.

And whoever posted that thing about the ship being built and not asked for...yeah it was. No ship in the Navy has ever just been built without a request. The only exception is when the Navy took over vessels in a time of war and...well those were already built. Once they commission a ship it takes a while for it to be built because they have to put in bids and such. It is a weird process for commissioning a ship but chances are it was requested. It was probably in the process of being built already but that is how the shipyards operate. Sure it could be a stupid use of money...but ships don't just pop out of nowhere for no reason especially is just one representative requests it.

[creatureofthenyte]

I can agree with your bottom line stuff. But honestly, i didn't care if obama or mccain got in office, either of them would be better than bush.

But to deny that obama is giving a fuck and TRYING to improve things is stupid.. wich is what the tea partiers actions always seem to point out, that's why i dislike them.. they're actions say they just hate obama and nothing else matters. I'm just wondering where the activist group was when bush was blowing money AND LIVES in a pointless war?

I'm sorry, but I just can't see for the life of me, how an unemployment rate of 9.6%, and a 13 Trillion dollar national debt, and most notably now, No cost of living increase for social security recipients, could be seen as Obama giving a fuck and trying to improve things.

The Tea Party activists do not hate Obama; they hate what he is Doing to our country, our future, and the future of future generations.

I still feel that pork-barrel spending needs to be reduced.

[Scar My Machine]

The facts (concerning our deficit, since most people are debating it here) are this.....(from an older article)

Whoever won the presidency in 2008 was going to face a grim fiscal situation, a fact already well known as the presidential campaign got underway. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) presented a sobering outlook in its 2008 summer update,[1] and during the autumn, the news got relentlessly worse. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that became embroiled in the housing meltdown, failed in early September; two big financial firms — AIG and Lehman Brothers — collapsed soon thereafter; and others teetered. In December 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed that the nation was in recession and pegged the starting date as December 2007. By the time CBO issued its new projections on January 7, 2009 — two weeks before Inauguration Day — it had already put the 2009 deficit at well over $1 trillion.

How I ask, could Obama even be remotely held responsible for what already existed when he took the oath of office is beyond me.

Former President G. W. Bush practically did little to nothing to make things better before leaving office. He (G.W.B.) was even going so far as to deny any recession was taking place until he was almost out of office.

By fay, Mr. Georg has been the most irresponsible president this country ever made the mistake of electing (if you wanna call it that, but that's a different can of worms). So, regardless of party - the man to follow him into office has one hell of a mess to clean.

Seems to me, that's gonna take time.

Also seems to me since that man happens to come from the democratic party, republican supporters are having a good time bashing our current leader. Now, I am willing to bet if a republican got elected (McCain, yea right) conservatives would more than likely pretend like everything was getting fixed on schedule.

The reality is all parties in Washington had better figure out a way to work together and start solving our economic woes or even they (the rich) are gonna find themselves without a pot to piss in.

We are all in this together, we had the misfortune of electing a clueless Harvard failure for 8 years and we should learn from our mistakes.

And I propose that there should be an I.Q. test for anyone that wants to run for president, kinda like the rides in amusement parks that say "you must be this tall to ride".....these should say, " you must have at least an I.Q. of xxx to run this country".

Maybe that's the solution.

/rant

[machine]

And I propose that there should be an I.Q. test for anyone that wants to run for president, kinda like the rides in amusement parks that say "you must be this tall to ride".....these should say, " you must have at least an I.Q. of xxx to run this country".

How about something that says you need to have 'x' years experience with governing/politics before you may run for office?? x being more than 8years total experience...

[phee]

[Epic_Fail_Guy]

The facts (concerning our deficit, since most people are debating it here) are this.....(from an older article)

How I ask, could Obama even be remotely held responsible for what already existed when he took the oath of office is beyond me.

Former President G. W. Bush practically did little to nothing to make things better before leaving office. He (G.W.B.) was even going so far as to deny any recession was taking place until he was almost out of office.

By fay, Mr. Georg has been the most irresponsible president this country ever made the mistake of electing (if you wanna call it that, but that's a different can of worms). So, regardless of party - the man to follow him into office has one hell of a mess to clean.

Seems to me, that's gonna take time.

Also seems to me since that man happens to come from the democratic party, republican supporters are having a good time bashing our current leader. Now, I am willing to bet if a republican got elected (McCain, yea right) conservatives would more than likely pretend like everything was getting fixed on schedule.

The reality is all parties in Washington had better figure out a way to work together and start solving our economic woes or even they (the rich) are gonna find themselves without a pot to piss in.

We are all in this together, we had the misfortune of electing a clueless Harvard failure for 8 years and we should learn from our mistakes.

And I propose that there should be an I.Q. test for anyone that wants to run for president, kinda like the rides in amusement parks that say "you must be this tall to ride".....these should say, " you must have at least an I.Q. of xxx to run this country".

Maybe that's the solution.

/rant

someone +1 this for me plz.. I'd plus one this myself if I wasn't out of +1 votes.

Creature, I would have replied to something similar to what Scar said here. But since he got the point across better than what I think I could have done, I'll just quote his stuff instead.

[Epic_Fail_Guy]

How about something that says you need to have 'x' years experience with governing/politics before you may run for office?? x being more than 8years total experience...

I actually like both Ideas. But I will say obama's lack of time in office as far as measurable years of experience goes doesn't seem to be inhibiting him much at all. It only seems to be something a few people still scream about for lack of any better or more logical reasons to dislike Obama.

I don't mind activists like the tea party existing, that's a good thing really. Just what I'm trying to point out is, where the hell were these groups when we had a truely terrible president such as Bush in office?

Also, why are tea partiers following in a group that is funded and influenced by a filthy rich guy with strong conservative/republican ties?

[machine]

I don't mind activists like the tea party existing, that's a good thing really. Just what I'm trying to point out is, where the hell were these groups when we had a truely terrible president such as Bush in office?

I understand it's trendy and hip to rail on Bush. I understand you are part of the trendy/hip crowd too. I suspect you own an Apple device of some sort, have an Apple sticker on your car, and get your Starbucks every morning. I get it, trends are what's in. Good for you.

If you actually knew the things Bush did do, and for the reasons he did them, I am sure you would be singing a different tune, but since you (obviously) don't know any better, I really can't expect more but the same talking points any other trend-setting Bush hater would use...

So, I will have to just ignore your Bush comments and focus on your other "points". Though I am having a hard time finding the substance to any of them...

[phee]

I understand it's trendy and hip to rail on Bush. I understand you are part of the trendy/hip crowd too. I suspect you own an Apple device of some sort, have an Apple sticker on your car, and get your Starbucks every morning. I get it, trends are what's in. Good for you.

Do you really expect a constructive discussion to come out of this kind of thing?