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IPFS News Link • Welfare: Political

Pork-Barrel Spending: The History of Lipsticking Pigs - by Wendy McElroy

• Future of Freedom Foundation

A December 15, 2012, headline in the New York Post declared, “Obama Sandy Aid Bill Filled with Holiday Goodies Unrelated to Storm Damage.” The announced purpose of the $60.4 billion bill was to provide disaster aid to East Coast individuals and communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

Instead, the bill was so laden with unrelated and politically inspired handouts that the House of Representatives refused to pass it. Republican Darrell Issa declared of the bill that sprang from the Senate, “They had the opportunity to have a $27 to $30 billion dollar legit relief package, packed it with pork, then dared us not to vote on it.” Many of the handouts were directed to federal assets: the bill allotted $2 million to repair the roof of the Smithsonian in D.C. and $336 million for Amtrak. Other money targeted private ventures, such as fisheries in Alaska.

 
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