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Main Entry: pork Pronunciation: ‘pOrk Function: noun In American political slang, it is politics (including government money, jobs, or favors) dealing with funding at the Federal level of local projects with little or no national significance yielding rich patronage benefits. In a literal sense a “pork barrel” is a barrel in which pork is kept, but figuratively speaking it is a supply of money, often the source of one’s livelihood. |
This week’s pork, served fresh, hot, and steamy: Tenessee’s Legislative Plaza.
The state legislature earmarked $2.2 million to remodel five hearing rooms at Legislative Plaza, including the installation of multimedia presentation systems as a part of the Capitol Hill complex’s $14.3 million refurbishment plan. This expenditure went largely unnoticed until the discovery of the Senate’s secret “Cloakroom.” The hidden meeting room, tucked behind the front of the Senate Conference room, is lavishly furnished with 14 chairs that retail for $907 each with a $3,600 high definition 50-inch flat screen television. There are scores of similar new chairs and no fewer than
six additional 50-inch television sets spread throughout the complex, throwing into question the need for the entire project.
I wonder how many Tenessee taxpayers have their own 50-inch flat screen televisions? I wonder how many $907 chairs sit in the living rooms of Tenessee taxpayers?
