Earmarks: The 'Great Satan' of the Budget Process

A cynical fraud slathered with hypocrisy is being perpetrated on the public these days. Republican politicians are railing against earmarks in the budget proposed by the Obama Administration. (Earmarks, as we should all know by now, are the special pet projects tacked onto money bills by Members of Congress.)

First of all, many – and I would guess probably even most – of those earmarks are for worthwhile projects.

But the fact is, earmarks account for less than one percent of the federal budget, so making such a huge deal over them is, as we say here in Hawaii, shibai … a fraud … willful B.S. It’s like complaining about the cost of foul balls being hit into the stands at a sold-out baseball game.

That said, the monumental hypocrisy in this fiasco is that some 40 percent of all those earmarks were put there by Republicans … the very same people who are beating their chests in mock outrage.

Clearly, these clowns think we’re stupid. And -- whether you’re left, center or right -- doesn’t that piss you off?

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