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Gifts for all occasions in the Galleria! Subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list. December 7, 2003 What is the Deal with Slopping Hogs? By Jan A. Larson  The
hogs in Congress are busy gorging themselves at the public trough
again. Actually, I hesitate to use the word "hogs" to describe the
members of Congress because I believe the analogy is an insult to hogs.According to a Heritage Foundation report, the 2004 omnibus spending bill is a budget buster loaded with unnecessary and wasteful spending on pet projects ranging from $75,000 for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz to a staggering $5 million for Project Socrates. I've written about Congress' penchant for wasteful spending in the past, but it seems that they didn't get the message. I wonder if they ever will? Our President doesn't seem to have any qualms about spending our money either. There has been nothing out of the White House advocating fiscal responsibility. With large (and justifiable) expenditures authorized for the war in Iraq and large (and irresponsible) entitlement spending on tap for Medicare recipients, a few more million here and there probably won't be noticed. At least that seems to be the prevailing attitude in D. C. If you had a bottomless pot of money at your disposal (as Congress does), would you not dig deep to help out with all of the great projects that your friends came up with? How about $400,000 for the Speed Art Museum or $270,000 for sustainable olive production? Hey, if you're going to spend money for sustainable olive production, you'd better cough up the $90,000 for olive fruit fly research, right? That's just what your Congress did. Just how did we get to the point where our Federal government can spend $250,000 of the taxpayers' money on the Studio for the Arts in Pocahontas, Arkansas? The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people." The plain language would seem to indicate that the Federal government does not have any powers not specifically granted to it by the Constitution. It seems unlikely that the Founding Fathers would have included a Constitutional clause to authorize Congress to spend money for "Web Wise Kids," so how do they get away with spending not only $600,000 for web surfing youth but an additional $225,000 for the construction of the Blue-Gray Civil War Theme Park? Surprisingly, this power is granted by the Constitution. That is if you take a very broad interpretation of the Constitution and what, exactly, the phrase "general welfare" actually means. Both the preamble to the Constitution and Article I, Section 8 contain language that authorizes the government to promote the "general welfare." Article I, Section 8 specifically grants Congress the power, "... to lay and collect taxes ... to pay the Debts and provide for the ... general Welfare ... " There you have it. Those few words give carte blanche to the trusted members of Congress to take our money and hand it out willy-nilly for any project that has a nice ring to it. You probably didn't know that every citizen of the United States is a welfare recipient, did you? How about a million dollars each for the First Tee program and the Hal Rogers parkway? No problem. Need six million for the Treasure Island Bridge or two million for Parents Anonymous? Take it. Would you like $270,000 for potato storage? Got change for a million? Congress has even seen fit to waste $100,000 of your money on "public service recognition week." You call that public service? The next time you hear a Senator or Congressman complain about the budget deficit or how we can't afford one thing or another, just ask how much he or she authorized for Kennedy Center Potomac River Pedestrian and Bike Path. (Answer: $5 million.) -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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