On the pork barrel

[unixronin]

Pork barrel politics is, simply, the art of buying your constituents' votes using their own money, and hoping that they never catch on.

The depressing part about this is how often it works.

This entry was originally posted at http://unixronin.dreamwidth.org/820133.html. That post currently has

Comments

[blackcoat]

Really, it's the art of buying your constituents votes via buying them stuff with Other People's Money, and a little bit of their own.

[unixronin]

It all balances out. Tax dollars are fungible. The more money your congresscritter spends in your district, the more money comes out of your pocket.

[jhetley]

If you practice it right, your constituents show a net gain on the transaction. "Tax that man behind the tree."

[unixronin]

And then the next district's legislator pulls the same stunt. It all balances out.