September 26, 2005

Pork Busters

I'm sure you've heard about the Porkbusters web site over at Truth Laid Bear. It's essentially a listing of Federal government spending that people deem to be, quite simply, pork.

I'm a Conservative (everyone knows that), but the current administration, along with the Republican controlled Congress, doesn't seem to be doing anything about the spending problem which has gotten significantly worse over the last six years.

Just to show you the oblivious, arrogant nature of those in Washington, House Majority Leader Tom Delay declared just last week an "ongoing victory" for the Republicans in the war on budget fat. Some asked about cutting spending for Hurricane Katrina relief, to which his reply was, "My answer to those that want to offset the spending is sure, bring me the offsets, I'll be glad to do it. But nobody has been able to come up with any yet."

No offsets, eh? Basically, what DeLay did was to throw down the gauntlet to true Conservatives everywhere. He said, "show me the pork," and we've replied, "here it is."

However, some people tend to have a bit of a nonchalant attitude toward Federal dollars. Take for example the Nashville-to-Lebanon commuter rail project. Many opposed the project initially because of the potential cost to local coffers (and the questionable need for a commuter rail). However, when Federal funding started kicking in, it apparently became a-ok. Of course, some don't seem to realize that Federal money is taxpayer money too, and contrary to popular belief, it doesn't grow on trees.

Some just don't even see a need for cutting a lot of the Federal pork spending. Doug from Dropstones had the following to say:

...as I was looking over the projects people listed and commented on, I found myself thinking that a number of the projects actually sounded like pretty good ideas. I mean, a lot of the things people were listing were for things like public transportation and bike and pedestrian walkways - which to me, are good things, and improve quality of life for many people.

It may be cliché, but the road to hell really is paved with good intentions. Sure...many of these projects are noble or even "good," but good isn't going to get you anywhere when you're operating on a deficit the likes that is almost unprecedented in the history of mankind.

I'm not saying that all of the projects listed need to be cut. Some of that spending may save money elsewhere. However, this is a grass-roots effort to put a spotlight on where Federal money is being spent and wasted. Simply put...the Federal government is out of control when it comes to spending YOUR tax dollars. Hurricane Katrina or not, something needs to be done about it.

More: I was interviewed earlier today by News 2 regarding the Porkbusters web site. Story here.

(*Note: I'll be posting about my trip to Louisiana tomorrow)

Comments:

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What is your reasoning on the commuter rail. Why is it bad? You could be right, it could fail. Rider estimates are notoriously bad when it comes to a new commuter rail system because people like the freedom of the cars. But just the traffic on I-40 argues that it would be good to have.

According to an engineering presentation I saw on the new rail line last week, they anticipate 1500-2000 daily riders in the first few months of operation. 2000 cars is the hourly capacity of one lane of interstate.

It beats the other ways of improving interstate capacity that I've seen tossed around at TDOT.

Posted by: W at September 27, 2005 07:11 AM