Bush Budget Proposal Filled with Earmarks for Cheney’s Home State
President Bush threatened to veto any bill that comes to him heavily laden with earmarks. His budget proposal, the $3.1 Trillion Dollar Budget… was filled with earmarks all designed to funnel money into Dick Cheney’s home state of Wyoming.
Earmarks and ethics have been at opposite ends of the spectrum since earmarks surfaced. Sometimes, it’s Congressmen taking bribes… Duke Cunningham. Sometimes, earmarks are the result of lobbyists… Jack Abramhoff. Both those men are in jail today.
The Department of Defense appropriations bills don’t have much visible pork. It’s the committee report that holds the barrel that holds the report and the pork. For this year, there were over 2000 earmarks loaded into the defense budget.
For the best insight on this waste of money, David Heath and Hal Bernton put together a documentary. If you are interested in where the money goes, and you should be, this is a must see.
You will be shocked! I knew there was waste, but the degree of waste is beyond belief. The culture and the system of earmarks is robbing the taxpayers. Rather than try to explain the trail of money, just take a look at the entire story.
This brief was presented on Bill Moyers’ Journal. And, to the NYT who questioned the need for PBS. This one program is enough to keep PBS funded.
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