Earmarks Still Mean Bad News for Taxpayers

Latest Polls (view all)

Where do you stand on the Transgender Issue now that the issue has gotten to the overt point of the open celebration of this lifestyle choice, dictated by certain direct and explicit actions.

91.07% I do not approve of behavior that has within its expressed tenants policies that harm children.

8.04% I do support the Trans Community in all its many facets because diversity is at a premium in today's society.

0.89% What is a "Children's Drag Queen Story Hour?"

Click Here to Vote
112 Vote(s)

View all Polls

Earmarks Still Mean Bad News for Taxpayers

Published: Saturday, March 6th, 2021 @ 10:58 pm
By: John Locke Foundation ( More Entries )

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Mitch Kokai.

Joni Ernst and Tom Schatz write for National Review Online about the disturbing return of congressional earmarks.

Congress isn't even waiting to lift the decade-long moratorium on earmarking before starting to pig out.

Look no further than the $1.9 trillion bill being touted by Democrats as the latest response to the COVID pandemic — a proposal that's being fast-tracked through both chambers. Tucked within its nearly 600 pages are a number of pet projects — also known as "earmarks" — that have absolutely nothing to do with COVID. Take, for example, the $1.5 million set aside for a bridge connecting New York and Canada. Elsewhere you will find a cleverly worded provision that earmarks $140 million for a subway from San Francisco to Silicon Valley. These projects will benefit the Democratic leaders of the Senate and House.

This is precisely how earmarking works. Secret spending is dropped into a "must-pass" bill at the behest of powerful politicians and is typically totally unrelated to the merits of the project or the purpose of the legislation.

House Appropriations Committee chair Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) and Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.) claim that earmarks will be restored with more transparency and limitations on where the money can be directed. But putting lipstick on earmarks does not prevent them from being good old-fashioned pork-barrel spending and the most corrupt, costly, and inequitable practice in the history of Congress.

Earmarking — by design — will never be transparent. Unlike the federal grant-making process, there is no standard for competition for the grants, and taxpayers have no ability to examine how the money was doled out. Earmarking is quite literally decided in secret. More insidiously, decisions about who gets earmarks and who doesn't are usually treated as a form of political reward for the well-connected or as punishment for those who don't follow the party line.

Go Back

Login to Leave a Comment

Setting Yourself Apart From the Corrupt

John Locke Foundation Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics

Doing Your Part

Our Members

ENCN Sign Up

BCN Home

Beaufort Observer

Portfolios

Current Events: A Historical Perspective

Current Weather

Latest Comments

Latest Polls

Featured Entries

Latest Entries

Earmarks Still Mean Bad News for Taxpayers | Eastern NC Now

Earmarks Still Mean Bad News for Taxpayers

Leave a Guest Comment

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

CA's Gov. Newsome facing federal investigation started under Biden, but blames Trump

student wins free speech case against Mecklenburg County NC Schools filed in federal court

GOP legislature passes NC Ratepayer Protection Act on electric rates

Taxes, Budgets, Spending, Are They Linked?

Overworked And Under Pressure Is Not A Path To Law And Order

UPDATE: Conservative Mike Collins wins Georgia GOP US Senate runoff

Biden DOJ targeted parents at school board meetings despite objections from FBI and sheriffs

Truth for our times: Bills Return America has addressed, the case made, and other legislation being monitored

Poland says "Hell, NO" to EU migrant resettlement scheme; Belfast anti-migrant riots continue

Tulsi Gabbard releases documents on US funded gain of function research at foreign labs

CEO of major Democrat funding group ActBlue pleads the 5th on election finance frauds

Creative new term limits bill introduced by Congressman Chip Roy with 12 year limit

What is the nuclear family and its significance in society?

The British police state: bill to jail tech CEOs who refuse to spy on everyone's cell phone

White House Doctor Announces Results Of Trump’s Annual Physical

Riots sweep Belfast after African migrant attempts to behead a local man in random attack

Illegal alien migrants behaving badly - migrants and crime NEWLY UPDATED

The JAIL Act: cracking down on soft-on-crime judges

new report: Minnesota Dems knew about mass Somali fraud but refused to do anything about it

Investigative reporter Nick Shirley finds 126 year old California voter,

UK top Labour leader says all ethnic groups should NOT be treated the same by police

EXCLUSIVE: State Department Organizing Global Push Against Far-Left Terror

Obama judge opens US immigration to migrants from 38 terrorist infected countries

Will California's crooked election system produce crooked results this year? Fed probe launched

It was my war

The ‘90s Childhood Comeback

A Pro-Life Cause Deserves a Prudent Strategy