Numbers Don't Lie, McCain Does

I recently had a conversation with a person who had an opposing view point regarding Congressional “earmarks”. I guess I was opposed to earmarks before I was in favor of them. Education and research is a wonderful thing and taking the time to understand the numbers is a good thing.

In the 2008 US Budget 6.6 billion was earmarked for defense issues by members of Congress, 3.3 billion was earmarked for clean water, the water we drink, 895 million was earmarked for the Health and welfare of our people, how sad is that, and 1.7 billion was earmarked for transportation. The balance of the 16 billion in “earmarks” in the 2008 US Budget were for sundry things that are probably important but may be offensive to people who do not understand that real research has to happen.

Earmarks comprise about .005% of the 2008, 3 Trillion Dollar United States Budget. In many cases they help to fulfill the obligation of the people we elect to represent us, our United States Representative. We send these people to Washington to bring back Tax dollars to our community.

If we need a “Bridge to Somewhere” Federal Aid, earmark budget items, our taxes, can be a boost to making that happen and enhancing the quality of like in our communities. Perhaps the people of Arizona do not need Federal assistance to improve the quality of life in their desert, but when I vote for a Congress person or Senator to represent my community in Washington I want them to do all they can do to bring my Federal Tax dollars back to my community. Indeed, I would prefer that my tax dollars be spent building and securing our infrastructure versus the infrastructure of Iraq.

So the next time you hear Senator McCain make a big deal out of a relatively itsy bitsy tiny issue give him the facts. The numbers never lie.