Counting Paperclips

McCain/Palin are on a righteous crusade against earmarks. They are going to correct the disaster that is our present economy by cutting taxes and eliminating earmarks. They talk about nothing else. That is their solution. Earmarks.

That's like the new CEO of General Motors saying that he is going to solve that company's problems by counting paperclips and eliminating the wasteful use of paperclips, along with arbitrary reduction of prices for the cars it sells, regardless of what it costs to build the cars.

Sell cars at a loss and count paperclips.

Earmarks constitute about one-half of one percent of our annual budget.

We spend as much in Afganistan and Iraq in barely over a month as we do on earmarks in the entire year, and McCain/Palin intend to continue that expenditure indefinitely. We spend more on the military overall in a few days than we spend all year on earmarks.

Some of the earmarks are entirely valid expenditures that would be in the base budget if they were not earmarked. Additional body armor for the troops in Iraq was an earmark. Up-armored humvees for Iraq was an earmark. Just who is "supporting the troops?"

Earmarks are a distraction. Pay attention to what matters.