America's Budget Deficit The Economist

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American politics
Democracy in America
Earmark silliness
Dec 15th 2010, 18:56 by M.S.
YESTERDAY John McCain, or one of his aides, informed the world via Twitter of
make a speech calling for cutting the federal deficit by eliminating earmarks.
“ SenJohnMcCain (http://hootsuite.com/dashboard#)
/SenJohnMcCain/status/14823322890014721)
6:25am via Web
Heading 2 the floor 2 talk about the $1.1 Trillion 1924 page omnibus spending bill
6488 earmarks totaling nearly $8.3 billion
”
The mathematically literate reader will note that $8.3 billion is less than 1% of
wait: it gets tinier. Here are the five earmarks Mr McCain picked to make fun of
7:18am via txt (http://
#5. $165,000 for maple syrup research in Vermont

”
Hey, $165,000! Here's a thumbsucker: How much does Mr McCain pay the aides
flip through the budget looking for programmes they think sound silly? Is it mo
$165,000 a year? Because they're not doing a very good job. Vermont, the lead
producing state in America, produced 890,000 gallons (http://webcache.google
/search?q=cache:VBBEPmdzL_UJ:www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New
/Publications/0605mpl.pdf+New+Hampshire+) this year. International demand
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dining/11maple.html) , especially in Asi
harvest in 2008 pushed prices up to $65 per gallon in 2009 (according to USDA
maple-syrup industry blog, (http://www.freshmaplesyrup.com/prices-and-buyin
and how awesome is that, did its own survey and found retail prices averaging
Meanwhile, American producers lag far behind industry leader Quebec because
mom-and-pop organisation. Quebec taps a third of its maple trees; New York an
or less. Regulatory changes and industry reforms are needed to increase produc
on public and large private lands. Increasing volatility (http://www.bangordaily
/137674.html) in winter weather is creating boom-and-bust problems for p
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technology. In sum, this is a promising industry for American agricultural expor
of millions of dollars annually. Is this particular research programme worthy, or
Neither does Mr McCain.
#4. $522,000 for cranberry and blueberry disease and breeding in New Jersey
You know, I actually agree that federally funded research grants should general
peer review, not via earmarks. But why are all Mr McCain's "wasteful" programm
research? What's he got against agricultural research? The Pentagon is funding
robots that walk like dogs. Doesn't that sound just as funny? Though I guess it'
earmarks, so fair enough.
#3. $246,000 for bovine tuberculosis in Michigan and Minnesota

”
Now this critique is just ill-informed and frivolous. Bovine tuberculosis is a reall
Not only does it cause severe damage to cattle herds, it can infect humans. (Tw
(http://twitter.com/joshqn) : " @SenJohnMcCain (http://twitter.com/SenJohnM
Bovine Tuberculosis is the largest infectious disease among animals in the world
become endemic in Michigan (http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases
/0,1607,7-186-25804---,00.html) because it has a wild host population in deer,
very difficult to eradicate. What is this doing on Mr McCain's list of wasteful pro
suspects it's there because one of his aides thought "bovine" sounded funny. I'm
that goes over with farmers. Again, the general principle that research grants sh
via peer review may hold, but this particular grant is about as wasteful as resea
influenza or swine flu.
#2. $235,000 for noxious weed management in Nevada

”
Again, what noxious weeds, what's the problem we're looking at here, how seri
finally, we get to Mr McCain's top example of budget-busting earmark wastefuln
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And the #1 pork barrel project in the omnibus spending bill...so far is...
”
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#1. $300,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii

”
The Polynesian Voyaging Society (http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/) is an anthropol
education organisation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian%20Voyaging%
build double-hulled canoes of the kind that Hawaiians and other Polynesian soc
European encounter, and research how they used those canoes to navigate acro
miles of open sea to colonise and trade between micronesian archipelagoes. Th
valuable as the work performed by, say, archaeologists in Israel, except that th
prehistoric Pacific societies. For example, the PVS recruited a Micronesian tradit
who trained a Hawaiian staff member in the art of navigating without instrumen
member then replicated a voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti, with no instruments. T
the store of human knowledge. It's inspiring and tremendously valuable that th
skill has not disappeared from the cognitive repertoire of humanity.
So why did John McCain pick this item as his "#1 pork barrel project"? In five s
earmark for a historical-archaeological project that is equally expensive and obv
valuable than the work performed by PVS: The Alamo Heroes Cemetery and Spa
Hacienda Preservation (http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/ED_73586
“ The Ruiz-Herrera Cemetery was founded in 1840 and contains the graves of t
Alamo while the hacienda represents one of the earliest examples of private cattle
complexes in Texas. The project will provide erosion control, topography survey to
grave sites, road construction and foundation and roof repairs to preserve the hist
sites.
”
But projects with the word "Alamo" in them don't attract the ire and ridicule of p
McCain, while projects with the word "Polynesian" in them do. I wonder why tha
The more general problem here is Mr McCain's contemptuous attitude. He evinc

that even though a field of study is obscure to him, it may nevertheless be sign
He evinces no respect for the people who work in these fields; he assumes ther
any good reason to do research on maple syrup or cattle disease. Again, there a
why one might want to eliminate or curtail the earmark funding system. But pic
funny-sounding research projects in the government's budget is an obnoxious e
doesn't demonstrate anything but your own boastful ignorance of those fields.
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#5. $165,000 for maple syrup research in Vermont

#3. $246,000 for bovine tuberculosis in Michigan and Minnesota

#2. $235,000 for noxious weed management in Nevada

#1. $300,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii

The more general problem here is Mr McCain's contemptuous attitude. He evinc

TOPIC: John McCain » TOPIC: Earmarks »

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