Archive → January 15th, 2012
Platts Report Week 18 (Jan 8 to Jan 15)
This is the eighteenth of many weekly analysis pieces detailing what Congressman Platts has voted on, or bills that he has sponsored/co-sponsored. I will briefly describe his action, the bill, and then detail how I would handle the same. Since it is not my full time job to read the entire bill (yet – with your help), I will read the summaries and base my decisions on those. I will also try and describe how libertarian principles apply in my decisions. During weeks that Congressman Platts is not in session or co-sponsoring bills, I will re-visit some of his older votes on legislation that has a had detrimental effect on our liberties.
Another week passes without Congress in session. This week I will discuss earmarks, and why certain earmarks need to be banned from all legislation. What is an earmark? An earmark goes by different names, but it is a legislative provision that directs funds to be spent on a specific project. Sometimes bills have earmarks for expenditures in legislation such as a certain amount of money in a defense budget going to a particular item for purchase. Other times, they are seen as “pork barrel” projects. It is these pork barrel projects that can be considered one piece in the corruption in politics.
A good example of a pork barrel project would be the Congressmen and women that were reported to have been “bought off” to pass the health care legislation. Special money was set aside for particular districts in order to buy that Representative’s vote. These types of earmarks should be considered criminal.
Can earmarks be banned? It is my opinion that it would be unlikely, since they would just be called something else. If Congress needs to set aside a certain amount of money in a budget bill, it is technically an earmark. When a bill contains an earmark for an expenditure on a pet project in a particular congressional district, it should be exposed for what it is and this practice must be banned. If one district gets $5 million earmarked to it, then all congressional districts should get $5 million earmarked to them. Anything else is unconstitutional.
Each and every taxpayer dollar must be accounted for. Sometimes the excuse for earmarks is that the money will be spent anyway, why not earmark it for their district to give the taxpayers their money back because any money not earmarked by Congress will be spent by the President on his/her pet projects. If that is the case, then the entire budget making process needs reform. It is my opinion that any taxpayer money not spent in the budget should go to paying off our national debt. Once the debt is paid off, then less money should be collected by the government. Of course this takes into account needed major reform on the size and scope of government and our current tax policy.
Will Congressman Todd Platts propose legislation to do that? Since he has not done so in over ten years in office, the answer is no. Sometimes I am asked what I hope to accomplish since major change will be met with resistance in Congress. Someone must stand up for what is right and must take a chance that the people in his district will back him. This candidate must be willing to take a national spotlight, take criticism, and weather political attacks to take the message to the people. Once the people hear the message, they will demand the changes and demand that their representatives vote for those changes.
Follow my campaign at mikeforpa.com, Facebook and on Twitter.
You can also follow my campaign and the events of the York County Libertarian Party at yorklp.org and the York LP Facebook page.
For Liberty,
Mike Koffenberger
Libertarian Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives
