The $1.5 trillion spending bill passed by Congress last week barely made the news, which is a terrible indictment on America’s priorities. The 2,700-page budget bill received little attention, despite the fact that it was issued at 2:30 a.m. on the day of the vote, implying that most members of Congress voted on it without even skimming it.
This would be an outrage in a less chaotic country. However, underneath the superficial stupidity of our elected representatives, there is an even worse scandal.
The latest budget plan includes almost 4,000 “earmarks,” or pet spending items tucked away in the minor text that support projects and handouts to special interests in lawmakers’ home districts. The total amount of money routed to earmarks is $10 billion. (To put that figure in perspective, it’s about one-fifth of what the federal government spent on the COVID-19 vaccine and therapy.)
The entire earmarks list is 367 pages long. It’s way too long for most journalists to read over in detail, let alone an average American who doesn’t study these topics for a job. However, a look at a few highlights will give you an idea of what our money is spent on as a result of this dishonest system.
While you are enjoying you Ramen and your $4+ gasoline, here’s where your tax dollars are going to be hard at work:
- Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont sought $109,000 for facilities improvements to a local arts center.
- Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio sought $1.5 million for “tree restoration” in Ohio.
- Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island sought $1 million for the “Multicultural Innovation Center” at the Rhode Island Black Business Association.
- Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama sought $60 million to “renovate” the research facilities of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
- Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama sought $60 million to “renovate” the research facilities of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
- Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico sought $995,000 for a project on “soil health” at New Mexico State University.
- $200,000 for technical assistance Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico sought $995,000 for a project on “soil health” at New Mexico State University.
- Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island sought $1 million for the “Multicultural Innovation Center” at the Rhode Island Black Business Association.
- Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island requested $1 million for the Rhode Island Black Business Association’s “Multicultural Innovation Center.”
- Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania requested $160,000 to examine the “sustainability” of astronaut meals at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
None of these projects require government funding. Few, if any, of the 4,000+ earmarks appear to require any government financing, let alone federal funding
Is there any justification for forcing an East Coast taxpayer to foot the tab for Alaska’s electric ferry experiment? Why should a Californian be liable for the cost of Spanish cuisine in Massachusetts or tree restoration in Ohio?
The government, according to the famous economist Frédéric Bastiat, is “the great fake entity by which everyone strives to survive at the expense of everyone else.” And, despite what you may think based on Congress’s actions, the federal government does not have a blank check.
When our elected leaders siphon billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to their corrupt gifts, that money must come out of our pockets, either directly or indirectly. Americans should not support a political class that wishes to live on our dime—or, more precisely, given the federal government is more than $30 trillion in debt, on the dime of future generations.
