Today the US Senate voted on a ban on earmarks. And even though it failed with bipartisan support, it is still laudable that after almost a decade of free-spending, record setting deficits and a soaring debt, our leaders have decided to think about tackling out of control spending.
But, don’t for a second believe that a ban on earmarks is going to make a dent in the spending problem in Washington. This move, if it had passed, would have been symbolic more than anything else.
I did some research and found that the 2010 fiscal year federal budget was $3.6 trillion dollars. Earmarks, according to PolitifactVirginia, amounted to $15.6 billion of that. That is .43%, or less than half a percent, of the entire federal budget (thanks to Matt Dooley for doing the math for me). Again, it’s nothing to sneeze at, but it is a far cry from truly reigning in spending.
Further, consider that the budget deficit is $1.4 trillion dollars. So again, cutting ALL earmarks would do little to balance the budget. It’s a small, tiny start.
Finally, not all earmarks are wasteful. Sure, some pay for crazy stuff that often grabs the headlines. Think bridge to nowhere. But, there are plenty of worthy projects paid for through earmarks. Today, WSLS reporter Scott Leamon had a story that highlighted one of those: the Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project. The rough cost for it was $40 million and it’s a project that has been credited as a huge success by Republicans and Democrats alike.
So, as with almost all issues in Washington, there’s a lot of gray on this topic. And, while an all out ban sounds good, it’s worth noting that those cuts won’t help as much as you might think and they will hurt someone or some group.
Posted by Jay Warren at 05:27 PM. Filed under: main •
(0) Comments • Permalink
