This story shows earmarks aren't as sinister as Tea party says

[Green_Lantern]

WASHINGTON -- On its face, it does seem absurd. Buried in a trillion-plus-dollar omnibus spending bill is a line requesting $165,000 for maple-syrup research in Vermont. Americans love the savory sap, and the Green Mountain state is the epicenter for its production, churning out 890,000 gallons this year alone. But why does the federal government have to get involved? And for what purpose are taxpayers forking over the dough?

These questions, undoubtedly, were on the mind of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) when he launched his Twitter screed against the pork-barrel projects included in the omnibus. The syrup-research expenditure made ranked fifth on McCain's list of the ten most egregious wastes of money in the omnibus bill -- a surefire example of the pure backwardness of the appropriators in Congress.

Dig a bit deeper, however, and that $165,000 starts to sound a lot less like a testament to fiscal lunacy.

"This is a lifeline," Tim Perkins, the director of the Proctor Maple Research Center at the University of Vermont, told The Huffington Post, "not only for Vermont, but for all of the maple industry."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/john-mccain-maple-syrup-research_n_797954.html

In short: without the generosity of lawmakers -- in this case, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) -- the well would be close to dry.

"Maple trees and products are a sizable U.S. export resource, with great unmet potential," Leahy spokesman David Carle said. "This industry generates nearly $200 million for Vermont's economy alone. Maple sugar is the second-most economically-important agricultural product in Vermont, after dairy. These small, family-based businesses are deeply ingrained in the character and history of Vermont. The trees are also economically important to the entire Northeast region."

That's the broader problem with McCain's critique, the defenders of earmarks argue: lawmakers know their districts best. While they will naturally be predisposed toward bringing home the bacon -- syrupy or otherwise -- and while earmarking certainly invites lobbyists to put their imprint on the budget process, it often has some value. If lawmakers handed over the pursestrings to the executive branch and its agencies, entire subindustries could go unfunded.

"The question is do all of the decisions for that agency get made by the president ... or do members of Congress intervene?" Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Thursday morning on the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show "POTUS." "I listen to the people I represent on questions."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/john-mccain-maple-syrup-research_n_797954.html

I bet McCain wouldn't view spending on his constituents as being wasteful.

[Angry Dragon]

1. He has no earmarks in the omnibus bill

I don't think he really does bring much back to Arizona