Thursday, March 08, 2007


The 2007 Pig Book



In case you missed it, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released their 2007 Pig Book on March 7. Reminding us all that insane spending of tax dollars DOES occur, a companion report rightly points out that waste likewise diminishes the competitiveness of the U.S. marketplace. Given the work of the Paulson Committee and other advocates of deregulation, excessive outlays should make news beyond CSPAN.

CAGW president Tom Schatz applauded some restraint but urged lawmakers to keep tightening their belts before spending other people's money. Here are a few of the goodies he cites as part of the "2,658 pork projects at a cost of $13.2 billion" included in the Defense and Homeland Security Appropriations Acts for fiscal 2007.

<< 1. $1,190,000,000 for full funding of 20 F-22A fighter jets, which the Government Accountability Office criticized as unnecessary and out of date;

2. $5,500,000 for the Gallo Center to study the effects of alcohol and drug abuse on the brain;

3. $1,650,000 to improve the shelf life of vegetables;

4. $1,350,000 for the Obesity in the Military Research Program; and

5. $1,000,000 for a telescope searching for extra-terrestrial intelligence. >>

Click here to download the 2007 Pig Book in its entirety. As you read, don't forget the words of British historian Lord Acton - "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

At a time when programs like Social Security and Medicare represent behemoth unfunded liabilities to taxpayers (not to mention more than a few state and municipal pension and health care programs), do we really need a space alien telescope or vegetable research? Decide for yourself next election cycle.

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posted by Susan Mangiero at 3/08/2007 10:00:00 PM