“Wake up and smell the economy!"

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Pet projects aplenty

Earmark rush is upon House

By Steve LeBlanc THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON— Lawmakers are scrambling to add hundreds of pet projects to the House version of the state budget, despite dire warnings of a $1.3 billion spending gap and a looming recession.

The amendments range from:
- $50,000 to clean algae on Nahant Beach
- $140,000 for a salt storage depot in Randolph
- $150,000 to battle the Winter Moth worm
- $750,000 to eliminate mold at the Stoughton Fire Station.
- $90,000 for a shellfish propagation program on Cape Cod
- $100,000 for a wind turbine at the McGlynn Elementary and Middle Schools in Medford
- $50,000 for film festivals on the Cape and Islands.
- $50,000 for teen pregnancy prevention programs in Southbridge,
- $260,000 for violence prevention programs for high-risk youth in Boston, and
- $250,000 for a colorectal cancer awareness education program.
- $250,000 for the Free Shakespeare Company in Boston
- $75,000 for collaborations between the Boston Ballet and Opera Boston
- $100,000 for the Waltham Tourism Council.
- $180,000 for a biofilter system in West Boylston
- $25,000 for improvements to the Holland Pool in Malden.

... The House budget relies on a mix of new taxes, cuts and funds from the state’s “rainy day” savings account to balance spending.

Lawmakers shouldn’t be looking to protect special projects when the state is facing a budget shortfall, according to Barbara Anderson of the anti-tax group Citizens for Limited Taxation.

“Wake up and smell the economy,” Anderson said. “Even with the tax increases we don’t have the money for the budget we have, never mind adding anything. Where are they getting the money for earmarks?”

see the full article here