In an effort to keep the American people informed about where their tax dollars are going and to keep politicians accountable, we are bringing to you a regular list of pork projects delivered fresh from the fiscal 2004 omnibus spending bill.
The Senate has yet to vote on the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, so it's not too late to defeat it. You can contact your Senator by dialing the Senate switchboard and asking for your Senator's office: 202-224-3121.
$250,000 shall be available for a grant for REI Rural Business Resources Center in Seminole, Oklahoma
$1,000,000 shall be available for the Providence, Rhode Island Center for Women and Enterprise for infrastructure development
$200,000 to the Town of Guadalupe, Ariz. for construction and renovation to the Mercado shopping center.
$100,000 shall be available for a grant to the Washington Airports Task Force to promote small business growth of passenger, cargo and other aviation services
-Taxpayers are now expected to pay for shopping centers, "entrepreneurial" projects, and the "promotion of small business." The federal government could help businesses much more by not taxing them so heavily-many small businesses pay in the highest tax bracket-and by removing onerous regulations. On the flipside, businesses have no incentive to promote and fund themselves as long as the government will make you pay for it instead.
$200,000 to the Jewish Family and Children's Service, to "develop and test models of coordinated social services delivery to persons living in Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC) in the Philadelphia area."
-NORC? There really is an acronym for almost everything nowadays. This is just one of several NORC projects being funded in the omnibus bill, and no more worthy than any of the others.
$1,000,000 for the City of Benton Harbor, Michigan for water infrastructure improvements.
-The residents of Benton Harbor were burning down their city in June, but maybe some water infrastructure improvements will prevent it from happening next time.
We'll be taking a break from this depressing feature tomorrow. Merry Christmas!
