... but a really stupid one. TheHill.com - Big earmark headache for Rep. Kanjorski

If one must do an earmark, shouldn't one ensure that the funds are allocated in a manner in which they can actually be used? What a collosal waste.

__________________
I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them; speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

Wow, providing parking to a community college.
It does not speak well of the representative's skills that he could not craft the legislation to meet all the various rules that apply. But I doubt that the voters of his district will fault him for trying, although they may punish him for failing.
This is getting pretty granular, and at that level almost everything that almost any large organization does has aspects that look stupid.
Five minutes at the water cooler in any large organization should give you at least a snippet of something along those lines.
Personally I was once hired for a rush programming job to modify an operating system before it became obsolete, so the company could collect for the modification before it replaced the OS with a new version.
An engineer I know had a story he told me about how a part he designed for a defense system, that cost $50 and exceeded all design specs, was replaced by a $500 part that barely met design specs, because the contract was "Cost plus 10%".
When Jimmy Carter froze federal spending on new buildings, a project in Boston went forward by changing the project from demolishing the existing structure and replacing it, to stripping it down to the steel frame and reusing the frame, at three times the cost.
(even though it cost 3 times as much it met the presidents criteria as "renovating an existing structure" which was allowed)
And that's just stuff I have seen with my own eyes, actually been a part of, or personally know the participants.
In the famous "Boston Big Dig" that was supposed to cost 2.5 billion and ended up costing 14.5 billion, there is a "deferred plan" for a railroad tunnel. That line on the paper connects the national rail system, which ended at Boston's South Station, to the rail system at Boston's North Station, which made railroads in Maine eligible for federal funds for track repair.
All part of the deal to get the project through.

__________________
“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

Putting money into the schools?

How horrible!

thats not quite the point....

__________________
No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

Money that can't be spent? Yes, that is horrible.

__________________
I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them; speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

lets stay on topic, earmarks, dem congress and collusion amongst them all, both sides. They claimed they were going to clean up the process in nov. 06....

__________________
No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

Earmarks for schools are not bad earmarks. It's bridges to nowhere that are bad earmarks. Every one of us benefits from some of the good earmarks that go to our states. Saying all earmarks are bad is just plain dumb.

This earmark is bad. The DOT is in a funding crisis (the FAA in particular) and the funds for this earmark can be put to a better use.

__________________
"Chaplain Charlie will tell you about how the free world will conquer Communism with the aid of God and a few marines! God has a hard-on for marines because we kill everything we see! He plays His games, we play ours! To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls! God was here before the Marine Corps! So you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps! Do you ladies understand?"

Earmarks are bad PERIOD. If Congress is going to specify to that level of detail how particular appropriations would be spent, they should be part of the bill, subject to debate.

I am not a McCain supporter, but one of the few positive things I can say about him is that I could actually see him declaring a complete moratorium on expenditures on earmarks by Federal Agencies.

__________________
"It's a good feeling to shoot a bad guy. Something you democrats would never understand. Americans are homesteaders, we want a safe home, keep the money we make, and shoot bad guys!"

----Denny Crane

Personally I believe that if a Congressman believes soooo much in an earmark that he wishes to push it through, then he should be willing to spend 10% of his salary on it. I bet that would drastically cut down on pork spending.

Just for once suspend your notion that all government spending is good spending.

The very practice of earmarks is objectionable...

I don't care what the individual earmark is for...they are all bad. Stealth spending is bad. Real bad.

__________________

"Compassionate Conservatism"?!?! That is a stupid phrase. Conservatism is inherently compassionate. It is liberalism that is cruel for the sake of maintaining a constituency.

I have to agree 100% here is a little story
A line item veto was approved by the republican congress and senate during the clinton admin. But was taken away by his own party and the supreme court
here is the link
Supreme Court Strikes Down Line-Item Veto - June 25, 1998


clinton cut hundreds of millions of dollars be it was stoped by his own partys

__________________
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.