While it has no relevance to today’s topic, I found this chart fascinating.Earmarks: So, even though the mere mention of the word brands one as a cranky old white man, I’d like to return to the topic of earmarks, because they are important, and here is why:
First, BHO promised to go through his budgets “line-by-line,” eliminating waste and unproductive spending. To now call this “yesterday’s budget” and promising to start eliminating earmarks next year is very disappointing to a lot of people who voted for him, believing in the promise of change.
Second, at best, earmarks are nothing but graft that a Congressman uses to grease constituents in order to strengthen his hammerlock on his job. At their worst, they are pure corruption.
Third, they are anti-democratic and regressive.
Finally, and most importantly, they were a pivotal issue for many people who voted for John McCain. Being “bipartisan” doesn’t mean inviting a few Republican politicians over to the White House to watch the Super Bowl, it means recognizing that you only won 53% of the voters, and that you need to do something occasionally to make the other 47% believe you actually care about them.
Cracking down on earmarks is the easiest thing to do for the McCainiacs. First of all, it’s the right thing to do; secondly, Obama needs to control Congress, which will only increase his popularity.
And don’t tell me “they’re only a couple percent of the budget.” Please. They will take $8 billion from the current budget. That could have paid for health care for 8 million families for a year. We can’t afford this kind of waste, and Obama can’t afford to ignore promises of this scale.
And don’t tell me “they’re only a couple percent of the budget.” Please. They will take $8 billion from the current budget. That could have paid for health care for 8 million families for a year. We can’t afford this kind of waste, and Obama can’t afford to ignore promises of this scale.
Wall Street: Just in case you have any lingering feelings that Wall Street was a “victim” of the economic crisis just like the rest of us, the Times had two really good columns this week to refute that idea: “Tsunami of Excuses,” by William D. Cohan, the author of a new book on the fall of Bear Stearns, and “The Looting of America’s Coffers,” by regular columnist Tim Leonhardt.
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