My Congressman, Jim Moran, has a penchant for pork; I’d rather he didn’t. The omnibus bill that Congress recently passed contains $53 million of Rep. Moran’s goodies. The list is here.
Perhaps “goodies” is a misnomer. Some of the projects are better handled by state and local governments. There’s no need for federal involvement in, say, Gang Prevention Services in Alexandria ($250,000), or restoring the Jones Point Lighthouse ($640,000).
$53 million may be less than a rounding error in today’s spending bills — not to mention deficits.. It’s still a lot of money. If it were left in the hands of taxpayers to spend as they see fit, who knows how many jobs would be created? $53 million can support a lot of livelihoods.
Instead, Rep. Moran sees pork projects as vote-getters. We’ll never know what might have been. Similar stories are playing out in districts across the country.
Inertia Wins! 