Pork isn't kosher
09.21.2005Technorati tags: porkbusters katrina
I'm a little late jumping on the bandwagon, but there's blogosphere initiative to fund Katrina reconstruction by cutting pork barrel spending. If you're unfamiliar, "pork" is what we call government spending that probably isn't necessary, but attached to bills by legislators who want federal money to end up in their district. It's a legitimized form of public corruption.
So if you'd like to help ensure funds for Katrina victims, w/o raising taxes or cutting legitimate government programs, pork's the way to go.
If you'd like to help, you can go to NZ Bear's Porkbusters page & find your legislators' email addresses. Contact them & ask them directly what spending they're willing to cut in your district. He's also updating a list of legislators who've agreed to cut spending (as he hears about the proposed cuts). More at Instapundit.
In Kalamazoo, contact: Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) and/or Congressman Fred Upton (R)
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NOTE 1: Interestingly, none of the $4.3 billion in Michigan pork is listed as from/to Kalamazoo's 6th US Congressional District. But you should still email Representative Upton & ask him to put pressure on other legislators.
NOTE 2: Yes, one man's pork is another man's cabbage. But if you want a good place to look for potential pork barrel spending, you can start w/ Citizens Against Government Waste. Here's their 2004 pork per capita by state ranking.
NOTE 3: You can also check out Pork Reports from the Heritage Foundation, a blog running updated lists of governmental pork.
Posted by Miguel at 03:44 PM
Comments
I've put together a spreadsheet of 5,091 earmarks (All 50 States) as part of the analysis of the Highway Bill with respect to Ohio's pork.
Spreadsheet (in zip format): HighwayBill.zip detailing $14,823,809,666 in earmarks.
Posted by: Porkopolis at September 21, 2005 12:25 PM