Earmarks: Saint McCain and Flake need to wakeup

I have some respect for Jeff Flake and his crusade against earmarks and government waste. First and foremost, I believe in fiscal prudence by the government. I think we should be required to have a balanced budget every year. The problem I have with Flake and McCain's stand is that their constituents pay taxes to the Federal Government and it the job of every Congressman and Senator to bring some of that money home in the form of reasonable projects (I think we all know reasonable when we see it).

There is a big difference between a bridge to no where and securing additional transportation funding for a growing state like Arizona. The East Valley Tribune has this article. The money quote is from our good friend Harry Mitchell:

Historically, Arizona has not received a fair share of federal funding on several fronts, including money for highway and wastewater infrastructure, Mitchell said. In some instances, some federal funding formulas are based on U.S. Census Bureau counts that are decades old and don’t reflect Arizona’s population growth. As a result, Arizonans pay more into federal tax accounts than they receive in benefits.“Think about this: Arizona has been a donor state,” said Mitchell, whose 5th Congressional District includes Tempe, Scottsdale, Ahwatukee Foothills, Fountain Hills and part of Mesa.“In terms of highway funds, we get 92 cents back on every dollar,” he continued. “That’s not right. Now, you can call it an earmark or not. But I think the very fact that there are projects that are going to be funded, the money is there, that the residents of Arizona have as much right to get some of their tax dollars back as residents of any other state.”