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I guess it's less porky when it comes to your state.
SPIN METER: Congress' pork: advocacy or hypocrisy? | Political Headlines | Comcast.net (http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20100413/US.Congress.Pork/ - broken link)
SPIN METER: Congress' pork: advocacy or hypocrisy?
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — It's early on a Monday in north Alabama's "space city," and Sen. Richard Shelby is bashing Washington at a packed town hall meeting in the cavernous U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
"We're spending a lot of money that we don't have," the veteran Republican tells hundreds of business leaders, many nodding in agreement over bacon and eggs.
Lost in the moment is this irony: Shelby's anti-spending message is being delivered in a government-built museum to which he frequently steers public money. The admiring crowd is made up of people whose livelihood depends on federal aerospace programs that drive the local economy. And the main point of Shelby's speech is to assure them he's fighting to stop NASA budget cuts and keep the spigot in Washington flowing.
The Federal Government is just one big hub distribution center redistributing wealth from one state to another. I say..shrink the Feds..give more taxes to the States..and if you want a road...let the citizens of that state pay for it...
I guess it's less porky when it comes to your state.
SPIN METER: Congress' pork: advocacy or hypocrisy? | Political Headlines | Comcast.net (http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20100413/US.Congress.Pork/ - broken link)
SPIN METER: Congress' pork: advocacy or hypocrisy?
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — It's early on a Monday in north Alabama's "space city," and Sen. Richard Shelby is bashing Washington at a packed town hall meeting in the cavernous U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
"We're spending a lot of money that we don't have," the veteran Republican tells hundreds of business leaders, many nodding in agreement over bacon and eggs.
Lost in the moment is this irony: Shelby's anti-spending message is being delivered in a government-built museum to which he frequently steers public money. The admiring crowd is made up of people whose livelihood depends on federal aerospace programs that drive the local economy. And the main point of Shelby's speech is to assure them he's fighting to stop NASA budget cuts and keep the spigot in Washington flowing.
I guess it would depend if you believe further space exploration is pork or scientific endeavor. If you believe that scientific exploration is pork then i guess you would cry hypocrisy
You need to eliminate it, period. You can't fault fault politicians who advocate against pork for taking pork also known as their constituents tax dollars.
Personally, I don't understand why there is such opposition to earmarks. An earmark means that funds are legally appropriated for a specific project or purpose. I would much rather see that, than simply handing the money over and trusting the word of some politician that they will actually spend it for what they promised.
The Federal Government is just one big hub distribution center redistributing wealth from one state to another. I say..shrink the Feds..give more taxes to the States..and if you want a road...let the citizens of that state pay for it...
They do, in part, with federal subsidies. We're not talking roads here, and road improvement is hardly pork, unless it's an eight lane to nowhere.
Sen. Shelby will never see the irony, particularly given the fact that NASA's budget was increased by Pres. Obama, not decreased. Of course, the good Senator will never recognize that fact since his pet (unfunded) project ended up on the cutting room floor. And, good riddance.
But of course, budget cuts are only for 'other people.'
"Obama's proposed 2011 budget actually increases NASA's budget by $6 billion.
...
As SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said today during a commercial space telecon organized in response to the budget request, "There are certain members of congress who cannot be swayed by any rational argument. They simply want the answer to be that funding continues in their district independent of any sound basis for it.""
I guess it would depend if you believe further space exploration is pork or scientific endeavor. If you believe that scientific exploration is pork then i guess you would cry hypocrisy
read the entire op ed. It's not just NASA, and Obama has proposed to privatize it.
It's standard operating procedure. People decry openly against government spending, then not only do nothing to halt it...but rabble for as much as they can for their projects and home state. Even better is when you see politicians crying sour about another politician trying to tack on pork, right after doing it themselves. The sad part is how many partisan nutjobs fall for it hook, line, sinker, and rod.
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