Congress Porks Out ... Again!

You would think that after the experience with the porkulus/spendulus bill, which enjoyed a favorable rating of over 50% until details of the pork and earmarks attached to it became available after which support fell to barely 37%, that Congress would get the message that we Americans don't want our hard-earned money to be confiscated away and then given to some pet project that doesn't benefit us at all.

But, members of Congress (both Democrat and Republican) seem to never learn. According to the New York Post:

Congress went on a pork-a-palooza yesterday, approving a massive spending bill with big bucks for Hawaiian canoe trips, research into pig smells, and tattoo removal - all while the nation faces an economic crisis.

Clearly, they have not learned. But this isn't all:

The bill also has a whopping 8 percent increase over last year for the numerous federal agencies it funds.

Let's see, the Obama administration has absolutely no clue as to how it is going to provide oversight for the porkulus/spendulus funding towards the Federal Government and Congress is increasing that money already?

And the fact that 40% of this pork came from Republican lawmakers is not good at all. I hope Michael Steele is paying attention so he knows who not to back in the 2010 elections.

More:

The bill, which critics slammed as larded with pork, has big bucks to combat putrid stenches in the heartland, with $1.7 million for "Swine Odor and Manure Management Research." That's on top of $1.9 million in each of the last two years, or nearly $6 million over the last three years. The swine research center, at Iowa State University in Ames, got funds through the Agricultural Research Service, and aims to improve the smell of animals and the lagoons where waste is stored.

Well, God knows we can't live without knowing all there is to know about the smells that come from pigs, now can we?

And this little tidbit, I thought was most telling:

Obama has criticized earmarks and insisted they be kept out of stimulus legislation - a suggestion that drew laughs from Republicans at the president's address to Congress Tuesday night. ... Meanwhile, Obama is set to unveil a proposal today that sets aside $634 billion over the next 10 years for health-care reform. He plans to pay for it, in part, by capping tax deductions for families that earn more than $250,000 a year.

More socialism that we cannot afford, on top of the pork that we cannot afford.

And Obama's comment on earmarks? Whom does he think he is kidding? Why did he bother to say anything about that when it is clear to everyone that he has no intention of ever enforcing such a policy?

Obama and Congress are spending our money like drunken sailors on shore-leave. The only thing they will accomplish is destroy an already fragile economy and bankrupt future generations who will have to pay the bill for all of this fiscal foolishness.

It is time we remembered what Margaret Thatcher said: "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." The way Obama and Congress are spending, that day will be coming much sooner than later.

Obama and congress seem to have no problem spending our money, but I am sure that they take care of themselves pretty well.

You can access the complete story on-line here:

Congress' Porky Pols Pig Out On Fine $wine
Geoff Earle and Daphne Retter
New York Post
February 26, 2009