Pork Barrel

Since the existence of the American government, pork activities have been ingrained in thehelped politicians build reputation by spending taxpayer money. But are these done in the interest of the people or rather as a strategic move for incumbents. Moreover, is the budget for these well spent? If looking at this from a congressperson's point of view, you would probably say yes during a news conference or when you snap the scissors at a ribbon cutting ceremony, but really, all you did was contact a few people that put your name on the project while they do all the work and taxpayers pay for it. As Starobin puts it, "one man's boondoggle is another man's civic pride." According to John Ellwood and Eric Patashnik's "In
Praise of Pork," pork barrel is now observed by many as a symbol of out­of control Congress.
It is also seen as the leading cause of budget deficit, having spent $93 billion in 1992 alone.
And pork barrels are not expected to disappear according to Paul Starobin's Pork: A
Time­Honored Tradition Lives On. On this same essay, Starobin expresses how he thinks, and how many people think, that pork barrel is wasteful to the budget we have. With nearly
$18 trillion dollars of debt, the US is not looking good when it comes to projects such as
Mormon cricket for $1 million or $1.7 million for pig odor research, two projects which Senator
McCain mentioned through his tweets as two of the most "porkiest projects" At this point we might be even talking about corruption since our dear congress people decide which projects to fund. And that's not all, according to Praise the Pork, some senators even fully support it and say "that's what they elect us for." In my opinion, pork barrel spending is not a reasonable way to use tax payers' money since they are paying for projects that although boost the reputation of the congress person that claims it, don't serve the whole communities making the taxes of some people not accessible to themselves.