Earmarks are those little (or not so little) things added to spending bills by members of congress to fund pet projects in their districts. Money may be appropriated to build a bridge, fund a lobster institute, study the sex life fruit flies, or any one of thousands of “noble” causes. Estimates of the cost of earmarks run to about $17 billion in 2008.
But the incoming Obama administration has sworn that earmarks are not going to be allowed in its appropriations bills. And they may very well be able to sustain that claim. Not everyone agrees what an earmark is. Here is the Congressional Budget Office definition:
Earmarks are, however, an indication of the allocation of scarce resources. The reason why earmark provisions are dropped into bills behind everyone’s back is because – up until now – the supply of government money was presumed to be limited and some spending was considered wasteful or not in the national interest, broadly defined.
But no longer. The Obama administration is proposing to add a trillion dollars to government spending. A trillion is such a huge flood of spending that there will be no need for clandestine appropriations for golf courses or the Abyssinian Development Corporation. In fact, spending money to study sheep utilization in Montana will not be labeled an example of wasteful spending; it will be highlighted as a patriotic part of the effort to get the economy moving again.
What was once considered clandestine pork will now trumpeted and as part of the plan. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
But the incoming Obama administration has sworn that earmarks are not going to be allowed in its appropriations bills. And they may very well be able to sustain that claim. Not everyone agrees what an earmark is. Here is the Congressional Budget Office definition:
funds provided by the Congress for projects or programs where the congressional direction (in bill or report language) circumvents Executive Branch merit-based or competitive allocation processes, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the Executive Branch to manage critical aspects of the funds allocation process.Generally, people outside of government define earmarks as items surreptitiously dropped into bills with no debate or review to pay for pet projects in a member’s district. The Pig Book sets the criteria for earmarks.
Earmarks are, however, an indication of the allocation of scarce resources. The reason why earmark provisions are dropped into bills behind everyone’s back is because – up until now – the supply of government money was presumed to be limited and some spending was considered wasteful or not in the national interest, broadly defined.
But no longer. The Obama administration is proposing to add a trillion dollars to government spending. A trillion is such a huge flood of spending that there will be no need for clandestine appropriations for golf courses or the Abyssinian Development Corporation. In fact, spending money to study sheep utilization in Montana will not be labeled an example of wasteful spending; it will be highlighted as a patriotic part of the effort to get the economy moving again.
What was once considered clandestine pork will now trumpeted and as part of the plan. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
1 comment:
What was that you were saying?
Post a Comment