Newswire:

$17.2 Billion Worth Of The Other White Meat

In case you forgot your congressional vocabulary, earmarks, or “pork projects,” are much-loathed tag-ons to budget bills that snag money for members of Congress’ pet projects. Lately, there’s been a movement in Washington to put an end to such means of unnecessary spending. [CBS]

Yet, despite all the talk on Capitol Hill about the need to cut back and even halt earmarks, the latest report shows it’s an addiction many find hard to break.

There are more earmarks than ever this year — 11,600 of them — totaling more than $17 billion tax dollars. According to reports, the top three spenders are Republicans.

What are our elected officials spending money on? We’re glad you asked. Take a look:

There’s $3 million to help the diamond trade.

Nearly a $1 million to manage noxious weeds in Idaho.

Then there’s money for the National Mule and Packers Museum, and a walking tour of a tiny town in Virginia — with a population of 474.

And while all this pork spending surprises us, we’ve got to say we’re not surprised. After all, the Pentagon has shelled out upwards of $295 billion for weapons systems that don’t even work. [Washington Post]

We… smell… BACON!

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