Follow the Money

Heritage’s Brian Reidl has a new report out on federal spending, and, for anyone concerned about responsible spending, the news is not good. In large part, the report cements what we already knew: President Bush’s legacy on spending will be one of waste and excess.

This year, for every household in the U.S., Washington will spend a little more than $25,000. That’s up from about $20,000 in 2001, when Bush took office. Federal spending, in fact, has grown twice as fast as under President Clinton.

And it’s not as if we’re getting a lot for these massive outlays. The money’s being used to fund things like farm subsidies, the Medicare Part D prescription drug, and No Child Left Behind — in other words, panders and boondoggles.

There’s no easy solution to cutting federal spending, of course; recipients of federal money lobby hard to keep it flowing, and politicians use handouts to shore up their campaigns and careers. But one measure that could provide a real start — not enough, but a strong beginning — is to swear off earmarks. And that’s why FreedomWorks has developed the Earmark Pledge, a simple, straightforward promise not to engage in any earmarking for the next year.

Sen. Jim DeMint explains why this pledge is so important in this video:

For more information, visit EarmarkPledge.com.