The Three Little Pigs – Stevens, Cochran, and Shelby (all Republicans)
Congress spent $17.2 billion of taxpayer money on pork-barrel projects, according to the Citizens Against Government Waste. The nonpartisan, nonprofit group released its annual book detailing congressional spending for the 2008 fiscal year.
For the first time, the names of members of Congress were added to the projects. The top three spenders were Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., with $892 million; Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska with $469 million; and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., with $465 million. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., was No. 13 on the list with $296 million in pork-barrel projects and her presidential rival Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was No. 69 with $97 million. Sen. John McCain R-Ari., was among five senators who didn’t spend a single pork-barrel dollar, according to the list. Alaska led the nation with $556 in pork per capita ($380 million total), followed by Hawaii with $221 ($283 million) and North Dakota with $208.
Citizens Against Government Waste counted 11,610 projects in the current spending plan. The 59-page Pig Book highlights 1,188 projects totaling $2.8 billion that “symbolize the most egregious and blatant examples of pork.”
Where are the tax and spend liberals on this list, or is that just a myth?
Even though the Democrats have been out of power for the last 12 years, looking at this list, they still did pretty well whe it come to pork. Give them time, they’ll get to top.
Tax and Spend vs. Borrow and Spend
No matter which, it all comes out of OUR pockets one way or another.
#21 & 22 -
“Never spend your money before you have earned it.”
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. “
>>> becagle said,
>>> Tax and Spend vs. Borrow and Spend
>>> No matter which, it all comes out of OUR pockets one way or another.
Actually, “Borrow and Spend” is MUCH WORSE fiscal policy. For starters, it about doubles the cost of everything because of interest on the debt.
Secondly, having foreigners like China and Saudi Arabia hold so much of our debt makes us economically weaker and vulnerable to their demands.
Thirdly, of course, is that it lowers the prosperity of the next generation or two — just the opposite of progress.
I’m sure there’s a fourth, fifth and more reasons why Republican/Reagan Borrow and Spend policy is just horrible.
#22 – Exactly. Remember all governments have NO money at all. It’s all OUR money.
Citizens Against Government Waste look them up on guidestar.org and see their 990 non profit tax return… looks like the executives do well “fighting government waste”,… one of the scammers takes a salary over $250,000 + expenses.. they collect over $5,000,000 a year… looks like a scam to me.