ABSTRACT
It has become part of US political convention to attack 'earmarks' - legislative provisions that direct funds to specific projects - as wasteful and corrupt. In this provocative book Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q. Kelly argue that in fact earmarks are good for American democracy. Using extensive interviews with Washington insiders and detailed examples they illustrate how earmark projects that were pilloried in fact responded to the legitimate needs of local communities, needs that would otherwise have gone unmet. They also demonstrate that media coverage of earmarks tends to be superficial and overly-dramatic. Cheese Factories on the Moon is a much-needed challenge to a widespread but deeply flawed 'consensus' about what is wrong with US congressional spending.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |6 pages
Whose Pork is it Anyway?
chapter |20 pages
“No Money Shall Be Drawn from the Treasury …”
part |58 pages
Congress, the Executive, and Earmarks
chapter |22 pages
Responding to Local Conditions
chapter |15 pages
Earmarks and the National Interest
chapter |18 pages
Earmarks and the Executive Branch
part |42 pages
Earmarks, the Media, and Lobbyists
chapter |20 pages
Earmarks and the Media
chapter |20 pages
Lobbyists and Earmarks
part |39 pages
The Earmarks Explosion and the Paradox of Reform