In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Have you seen the bigger piggies in their starched white shirts?
You will find the bigger piggies stirring up the dirt,
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
In their styes with all their backing they don’t care what goes on around,
In their eyes there’s something lacking,
What they need’s a damn good whacking.
Everywhere there’s lots of piggies living piggie lives,
You can see them out for dinner with their piggie wives,
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
- The Beatles
Citizens Against Government Waste: 2006 reportThe guilty pleas of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham illustrate how pork-barrel projects, whether used as currency for re-election or as political favors to well-connected individuals or businesses, can corrupt the political process. The historic lack of restraint in the appropriations process has helped create a projected $371 billion budget deficit in fiscal 2006 and a national debt of $8.5 trillion. Whether the lobbying scandal and the outrage of taxpayers over “bridges to nowhere” will force Congress to cut the pork remains to be seen.Update: A phunkster noticed this bit from From the Homeland Security Section of the Pig Book:
The 2006 Congressional Pig Book is the latest installment of Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) 16-year exposé of pork-barrel spending. This year’s list includes: $13,500,000 for the International Fund for Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit; $6,435,000 for wood utilization research; $1,000,000 for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative; and $500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, N.C.
...
Even though Alaska led the nation with $489 per capita ($325 million), it was less than half of Alaska’s 2005 per capita number of $985. The runners up in 2006 were Hawaii with $378 per capita ($482 million) and the District of Columbia with $182 per capita ($100 million). Alaska’s drop can be attributed to Sen. Ted Stevens’ (R-Alaska) descent from the throne as Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman.$10,000,000 added by the House for the Intercity Bus Security Grant Program, which is meant to improve driver protection, passenger screening, tracking and communication between buses, and overall security assessment. While the individual grants continue to fund profitable companies, such as Coach and Greyhound, the most ridiculous grant in fiscal 2005 was $46,908 for Hampton Jitney, Inc. The Jitney is known primarily for shuttling wealthy New Yorkers to their summer homes in the Hamptons. The company has recently added a limousine service that promises "a custom tailored limousine ride for an unforgettable day."
- rob 2:08 PM - [PermaLink] -
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