EARMARK Hypocrisy
Definition: A legislative practice of designating a certain amount of money for a specific project that would normally be undertaken by bureaucracies yet claiming to oppose pork-barrel spending. Earmarks are pork barrel spending.
History 1 (lexical): The term ear mark was originally a synechdochal reference to pages folded down at a corner within budget proposals. Ear marked pages tended to be pages where individual Members of Congress had pencilled in proposals to set aside money for a specific project. "Pork Barrel," on the other hand, was a metaphorical reference to barrels of salted pork from which slaves (usually) drew their rations during the nineteenth-century. Congressmen dipping into the pork barrel, took from the slaves (and metaphorically, the public). Thus if you are a member of Congress, you say "earmark." If you are a knowledgeable member of the public, you say "pork barrel."
History 2 (contextual): Given that A) Republicans poisoned the well against bureaucrats, thus making them less trustworthy than Members of Congress (whose approval is at 25% in the most recent polls); and B) that Americans have been taught not to critically think about what it is their elected officials say and do, earmarks have become an increasingly common practice under a Republican dominated Congress and a Republican presidency. This hypocrisy has enraged traditional, small-government republicans . . . or at least those who don't get their news from Fox.
Example: In a June 16, 2007 radio address, President Bush announced: "In January, I proposed reforms that would make the earmark process more transparent, end the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language that is never included in legislation, and cut the number and cost of earmarks by at least half." On June 21, the House Committee on Appropriations issued a Report to Accompany Legislation Funding the Department of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies for 2008. In it, earmarks are broken down by agency and include dollar amounts and who requested the set aside. There are 321 earmarks in that report, 94 of which were requested by President Bush.
History 1 (lexical): The term ear mark was originally a synechdochal reference to pages folded down at a corner within budget proposals. Ear marked pages tended to be pages where individual Members of Congress had pencilled in proposals to set aside money for a specific project. "Pork Barrel," on the other hand, was a metaphorical reference to barrels of salted pork from which slaves (usually) drew their rations during the nineteenth-century. Congressmen dipping into the pork barrel, took from the slaves (and metaphorically, the public). Thus if you are a member of Congress, you say "earmark." If you are a knowledgeable member of the public, you say "pork barrel."
History 2 (contextual): Given that A) Republicans poisoned the well against bureaucrats, thus making them less trustworthy than Members of Congress (whose approval is at 25% in the most recent polls); and B) that Americans have been taught not to critically think about what it is their elected officials say and do, earmarks have become an increasingly common practice under a Republican dominated Congress and a Republican presidency. This hypocrisy has enraged traditional, small-government republicans . . . or at least those who don't get their news from Fox.
Example: In a June 16, 2007 radio address, President Bush announced: "In January, I proposed reforms that would make the earmark process more transparent, end the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language that is never included in legislation, and cut the number and cost of earmarks by at least half." On June 21, the House Committee on Appropriations issued a Report to Accompany Legislation Funding the Department of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies for 2008. In it, earmarks are broken down by agency and include dollar amounts and who requested the set aside. There are 321 earmarks in that report, 94 of which were requested by President Bush.
posted by Definer at 5:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home