Trim pork for grandkids’ sake

The article “How they’d cure the pork” (10/16, A-2) aroused my curiosity when it mentioned that “earmarks accounted for $18 billion in last year’s budget.” The rest of the paragraph seemed to imply that that amount was not very significant since it was “much less than 1 percent of the federal spending.”

To those, who make their living representing us in Washington, it may not sound like much money. However, it does add $18 billion to the deficit, and that is about $59 per man, woman and child in the United States today.

By the time our grandchildren start paying that debt with interest to foreigners, it will likely be a very significant amount.

Kal Makela
Lenexa

Comments

[solomon]

The war on drugs was started under Anslinger years ago, he was the "drug czar" prohibitionist from the 20s until retiring during the kennedy administration. The huge fundings though started under Nixon. There is an excellent documentary titled "grass" that details the money spent, it will make your head spin.

[Engineer]

solomon
My point was that debt is debt no matter how or why incurred.
The Democrats have controlled the House and therefore the purse strings for all but a handful of the years in my adult life time. A large share of the years when the House was controlled by Republicans were the Clinton years when we had those highly lauded if imaginary surpluses. LBJ is responsible for the excesses of "The War on Poverty". Just who started "The War on Drugs" I don't know, but I agree that this is a question that needs to be rethought.

[solomon]

Since 1968 there have been exactly 12 years of Democratic administration. I think you and I are in agreement that the other 28 years are our responsibility as far as money being thrown down a hole.

[solomon]

Good evening Engineer,

I chided our friend Rogue earlier for making a stupid arguement, I expect better from you. The fact that we are spending money to occupy Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with the war on poverty, which you and I agree is an impossible goal that will never end. The war on poverty, like the war on drugs, is a sinkhole of special interest money that makes the rich richer. Crumbling neighborhoods and poor education could have been eliminated if there was not someone getting rich off these programs. BTW, its not the poor who have benefitted from the war on poverty, and drugs are more plentiful and higher quality than ever.

The occupation of Iraq is another place where fat cats have gotten fatter, and this war has cost us lives and international prestige on top of the money.

[Engineer]

solomon
We are also "saddling our future generations" with the debt incurred in the "war on poverty" which is still going on. The distribution of treasury checks will do nothing to decrease the debt passed on to future generations even if taxes are raised to provide the money for the checks.

[solomon]

If you click on the link, on the left side of the page you can access charts under Federal Budgets. You can view costs for selected wars under Military. You'll find that we've spent 3 1/2 times more in Iraq than on the war in Afghanistan(you know, where Al-Queda is). Together they amount to close to a trillion dollars. We are nowhere near the end of these wars.

That we are saddling our future generations with this debt is, IMO, shameful.

[solomon]

.....you could buy the world a hell of a lot more than a Coke with this......

http://nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

I neither fear nor support wealth redistribution. I think more than anything else it is an election issue. Taxes are going up no matter who wins. I'm not a proponent of redistributing the wealth like this either. Call me kooky.

[repete]

What does the Iraq war have to do with defending our nation?

[solomon]

What an idiot. Everyone knows thie war against terror was sidelined by the Iraq occupation but you. Even the guy you hate, Obama, is for the action in Afghanistan.

You know, every time you try and make a point towards what I've said you use a position I've never taken. What does the War on Poverty (which has been a nightmare) have to do with putting the costs of the Iraqi occupation on our grandchildren? Believe it or not, there are people who don't care for Obama, the War on Poverty, higher taxes, the occupation of Iraq and stupid people like yourself. Disliking McCain and a war of imperialism does not make a person Jimma Cahta.

[Rogue]

Yep, that darn defending the nation from attack is so damned expensive. Hell we could be spending those dollars on the War on Poverty, which now stands at $6 Trillion, but hey, who's counting?

Dammit, stop wasting our money on defending the nation. Start putting a chicken in every pot by "spreading the wealth" around!

Now your talkin'!

Let's all become citizens of the World!

Join hands and sing I Like to Buy the World a Coke! OHmmmmmm!

[solomon]

Thats a drop in the bucket compared to what the war in Iraq is going to cost them.