MAPLETON, UT | 3 April 2008 | There’s something you can count on from candidates during every political season – a publicly trumpeted list of accomplishments in the form of dollars spent on worthy causes (under the leadership of said candidate). Sometimes, those political trophies backfire, when the media unearths some pet project buried in the past that leaves even the politically numb scratching their heads, or worse, pointing fingers.

Such is the nature of pork-barrel spending, often found in the form of congressional earmarks – “discreet” allocations for funding tacked on to congressional legislation, like parasites hitching a ride on a giant whale. Like all parasites, they seek their own political survival by siphoning off some of the blood of the nation (in the form of dollars collected through taxes) to bestow upon their constituency in return for political favors. The legitimacy of the legislation to which they attach their parasitic mouths is their guarantee that their presence will not be challenged, for fear of impeding the great work of Congress.

In a 1936 Baltimore Evening Sun editorial, H. L. Mencken alluded to this state of affairs when he wrote that American government is “a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.”

Key Points:

• An earmark refers to congressional provisions directing approved funds to be spent on specific projects (or directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees).
• Typically, legislators seek to insert earmarks which direct a specified amount of money to a particular organization or project in his/her home state or district.
• Such insertions are generally done with very little, if any transparency, and rarely are legislators held accountable for their actions
• Critics argue the ability to earmark Federal funds should not be part of the legislative appropriations process
• Supporters of earmarks however, feel that elected officials are better able to prioritize funding needs in their own districts and states and that it is more democratic for these officials to make discreet funding decisions than unelected civil servants.
• Congress’ year-end budget passed in December 2007 contains nearly 10,000 Congressional earmarks worth $10.4 billion, according to a comprehensive database compiled by Taxpayers for Common Sense.
• Some states, such as Utah, have rules that require earmarks to be relevant to the bill to which they are attached.

Commentary:

Many politicians have decried the abuse of earmarks (if not their existence), and have called for everything from quotas to moratoriums on the practice. But the common sentiment among politicians seems to be that it’s not any earmark in particular but just that there’s too many that’s the problem. It’s not surprising that such a unprincipled stand has resulted in nothing being done about any earmarks – no one (with the rare exception of Ron Paul) is willing to surrender their sole source of power and influence. Without the ability to hand out loot to the unearned whose claims are based on need, pull, and graft, many congressmen would essentially be out of a job.

Without any consideration of principles and the proper role of government, the debate over earmark spending will never rise above an argument over which earmarks are more well-deserved. When the government gets in the business of competing with the efforts of private citizens and business, the consequences are unavoidable. Businesses who find themselves competing with an entity with limitless pockets and the ability to restrict competition with force either withdraw from the marketplace or join the line of claimants asking for government dollars to fund their efforts. The normal, healthy operation of the free market is distorted by the money being handed out without value given in exchange (only pull and political favor), distorting prices, displacing industry, and creating no incentive for efficiency or accountability.

The private entrepreneur succeeds or fails on the merits of the value he creates in the community. Without the validation of payment received from customers served, he cannot prosper. He must be tireless in service, ruthless in efficiency, and always innovating, or he will not profit, and will eventually go out of business. The government program, subsidy, or bureaucracy, however, receives its funds and carries out its business with no need to consider any fiscal principles – including the validated creation of value through exchange – and survives on the ability of its sponsors to appeal to the collective guilt of the public for another round of budget funding. Such a system is nothing less than a cancer that slowly destroys economic prosperity, as it replaces individual productivity with collective looting as the occupation of choice for an entire generation of citizens.

In this election year, at schools and civic centers across the nation, as citizens voice their grievances to next year’s potential looters, you can witness the parasitic disease in person. Whether it’s concerns about jobs or the need for a new cultural center, the socialist mentality is the same – if only this politician could deliver some much-needed funds from the treasury, then our lives would be better. With money flowing from the federal budget to every corner of the country, it’s not hard to imagine why no one would want to feel left out. It’s the looter’s creed: if it’s there to be had, I’d better get mine before someone else gets it all.

Action Steps:

• Research what legislation is currently being considered, and contact your Congressman to express your opinion on any earmark spending involved (www.house.gov, earmarks.omb.gov)
• Visit the websites of the organizations that advocate transparency and acccountability in government spending (earmarkwatch.org, www.sunlightfoundation.com, www.taxpayer.net)
• Read Frederick Bastiat’s “The Law” – What is meant by the term “legal plunder”? (http://http://www.fee.org/library/books/thelaw.asp)
• Track US Congressional Earmarks Via Google Earth!

MRFC Principles: (9, 10, 11, 12)

References:

Pork Three Ways
http://reason.com/news/show/125689.html

How Congressional Earmarks and Pork-Barrel Spending Undermine State and Local Decision-making
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/bg1266.cfm

Despite proclamations, earmarks continue
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39574&dcn=todaysnews

‘Pig Book’ names congressional porkers
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/02/pork.spending/index.html?eref=rss_topstories