Austria, Jordan wrong to swear off earmarks

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7:03 PM Saturday, March 13, 2010

Here’s an insight: Symbolic changes won’t fix Washington.

The empty gesture of area Reps. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, and Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, announcing they will not seek earmarks in the coming year is just another diversion from the real business of governing.

And it’s an abdication by both of them to represent the best interests of their districts.

The blanket announcement is a counter move by Republicans to the Democrats in the House who made their own symbolic gesture of ending earmarks going to for-profit organizations.

If you smell an election approaching, you’d be on the right scent.

Everyone is against a Bridge to Nowhere, sponsorship secrecy and pay-to-play fraud — all abuses of the process.

But most earmarks serve a useful function by making possible projects that would be impossible to fund by other means. Earmarks allow representatives a chance to make their district’s particular needs a priority in the national budget.

Springfield has benefitted greatly from former Rep. David Hobson’s use of earmarks to spur public and private economic projects here. There are few major projects locally that didn’t benefit from the earmark process in some way.

If you have needed cancer treatment, ridden a bikeway, seen a concert in Cliff Park or used a sewer, there’s a good chance one of Hobson’s earmarks made it possible.

Both Austria and Jordan, by simply saying no to all earmarks, are denying their constituents the ability to compete for money that will now go to other districts.

Would Austria or Jordan forgo an opportunity to attract jobs to the area if an earmark would help? Jordan has sought earmarks for flood control and the Lima Army Tank Plant. Does he now regret doing that?

Both representatives should be able to discern good projects from bad ones. The process is now very transparent and voters can pass judgment if they spend the public’s money foolishly.

The national debt is growing and the federal government needs to fix that. That means representatives need to look at entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, the military budget and tax rates.

While they’re at it, they might look at the ways corporate America has ripped off the public.

When they finish all that, then they might take a look at the tiny sliver of the budget that is earmarks.

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I am now a dumber person after having read Natzi's wretched abortion of thoughts she considers enlightened enough to put into words. Here's an idea...If you cant pay for a child quit *******! If you dont have insurance, whoopty ****, go to the hospital anyways. You'll get billed, which you cant pay and in turn will be placed into a government run program until it goes bankrupt, then placed into another. Repeat process until you die.

Andrew
1:58 PM, 4/6/2010

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Did you ever see Inglorious Bastards,,,thats Nat, short a ah ah zi for Natzi. Get it. Brad Pitt called it the Nat--zi, watch the movie. Steve Austria does believe in controlling women citizens. Why all the sudden interest for men in right to life. Pro choice means a woman has a right to get or not to get an abortion. And Steve Austria needs to keep his nose , AND THE GOVERNMENT, YES OUT OF IT.

Natzi Germany
9:38 PM, 3/16/2010

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Hey Natzi it's spelled Nazi. They believed in controlling all business and all citizens. Sound familiar?

Ken
4:26 PM, 3/16/2010

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A bill to get rid of pay raises? LOL All he had to do is not accept the big fat pay raise. He is always complaining about less government. So I say get out of women issues and quit sticking his nose in the abortion issue. Pro Life people make me sick. Why worry about forcing a woman to have a child and then force people to live without health care. Since it is not a right to have health insurance. What a hypocrite, he is a scary person.I'm with you impeach, bring back Dave or someone like him.

Natzi Germany
9:05 AM, 3/16/2010

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This man came in after this area had been served by a great man...Dave Hobson. He worked so hard to help the area on job creations and the many issues that faced the Miami Valley. Steve Austria is a Communist, Socialist scary person. As jobs continue to leave this area, blame Steve, and pray someone else steps up to the plate that can be half the person Dave Hobson was.

impeach him
8:54 AM, 3/16/2010

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