Obama yesterday said that even if we got rid of ALL the earmarks it would only be 1% of the budget. Either that is an outright lie and he knows it, or, lets be charitable and say its a serious SPIN.
I don't know if the 1% number is correct or not. Maybe it is. BUT...even if it is, it controls 100% of the budget.
Earmarks are placed on bills to buy votes for the bills. Yes, each earmark in itself is not much, but if the main bill would not have passed without buying that vote or those votes, then it is leveraged to 100%. For every 100 billion dollar bill that is passed only because 1 billion in earmarks purchased votes, there is a leverage of 100%. So the 1% becomes the 100% of the budget.
If ALL earmarks (that according to the president are only 1%) were eliminated by law. Then more than half the bills they are attached to would not pass. The bills they are attached to could not pass on their own merits so in order to buy votes for an otherwise unacceptable bill, leaders will throw in some "meat" for the voters so they vote in order to get their earmark passed. They don't vote for the main bill, they just vote for the money that is attached for themselves and to hell with the rest of the country. We saw that with the health care bill. It didn't have a chance in hell if they hadn't purchased votes with add-ons, earmarks, and exemptions.
By outlawing earmarks the budget could be cut in half immediately!!!
So Obamas comment that earmarks are only 1% of the budget is intentionally misleading. That in my book is a Lie. He lies.
Jim Isbell
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