It is Time to Stop the Pork in Congress for Good

I was just reading a news article that talked about new earmark rules for Congress. An earmark, for those of you who are not familiar with the term, is a spending item that is slipped into a piece of legislation that has nothing to do with the legislation to be voted on. In other words it is money that is being earmarked for a special spending project in some Congressman or Senators state. The legislation is a joke. All it is require that the spending be highlighted. It in no way hinders politicians from adding earmarks to legislation. It only points it out.

Earmarking is something we all pay for. There are years in which Congress appropriates over 60 billion dollars for pet projects in various states. That works out to about 600 dollars per taxpayer. It was interesting that the author of the article I was reading state that not all earmarks are wasteful. Some, he said goes to worthy recipients such as universities and hospitals. Give me a break. It does not matter how worthy a recipient is the practice of earmarking is wrong. The truth is though that most of the projects are small projects designed as a way of paying back political supporters.

Three major reasons why earmarking is wrong.

First, earmarking is wrong because, the Constitution gives Congress the right to vote to appropriate money. There are Congressmen and Senators from each state and each one is to have a vote on appropriations. Earmarking is a way of getting around the right for each congressman to vote on how our tax money is spent. When an influential Congressman or Senator wants to spend money for a project in his state he or she will not propose it as legislation because he or she knows that there is no way the majority will vote for a project in his state. So, instead, he or she will attach an amendment to an important piece of legislation such as a Medicare bill that the majority has to vote for and therefore by bypass the will of the whole body to spend money in his state. When a bill comes to the floor of the House or Senate the entire piece of legislation is voted for. Congressman and Senators do not have the option of voting for each spending consideration on a piece of legislation.

Second, the Constitution makes a difference between State and Federal Governments. States are supposed to be in charge of their state and the governments spending that goes on those states. If a project needs to be completed in a state, the people of that state should fund it. The Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution makes clear that the powers not granted to the federal government are given to the state government. This is a way of the Federal Government bypassing the Tenth Amendment and exerting its influence upon the state governments.

Third, there is a lack of equity in the way it works. The states that have Congressmen and Senators that have been there a long time and have earned the clout of heading committees and sit in leadership positions get the most money. Also states with large populations like California, Texas and New York that have so many representatives in Congress get an unfair proportion. This leaves the other states to foot the bill for these earmarked appropriations. It is simply not fair to take hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes from one state and spend it in another. Here is an example why should taxpayers in South Carolina be forced to pay for a teapot museum in North Carolina.

The answer to the problem

The answer to the problem is simple. Pass legislation that will make it illegal to earmark any money for any program that is not directly related to the bill itself. Actually it should be illegal to add any amendment to any legislation that does not directly relate to the legislation. Doing this one thing would go a long way toward balancing the budget.

Does it make sense that we would have 535 Congressmen and 100 Senators whose main job is too bring back to their states as much money as they can. This is a crazy way to run anything. No business or organization would ever consider running this way. It is simply ludicrous that we ever allowed this to happen.

The only way that this will ever change is if we do something about it. I am not talking about our government officials. They like the system and do not care that they are taxing us to death. It is time to take action into our own hands. Write or call your Congressman and your two Senators office. Here is the location of where you can find the contact information for your Congressman and Senators

http://www.common-sense-america.com/pork.htm

Remember that we have the power to change the way our government governs. If you want to see us move back to a constitutionally run government it is up to you to get involved.