NEW ERA

The editorial "Obama breaks vow to curb earmarks" goes on to say "Yes, that Barack Obama. The one who, during the campaign, promised to go over the federal budget 'line by line,' as president to make sure taxpayers' dollars are being spent wisely...An earmark free spending bill is possible."

WATCHDOG: The New Era editors are misguided in two ways:

(1) The appropriation bill before the president is a product of work over the past year of the Bush Administration. To try to change any of it now would be to start a process of changing much of it, which would delay work on the budget for 2010. President Obama promises careful scrutiny of budget preparation for 2010.

(2) Somehow "earmarks" have gotten a bad name. Would the New Era prefer that federal expenditures for local project be determined by a bureaucracy in Washington D. C. or be controlled by our own senators, congress persons and state representatives? It is an imperfect system, but the public's will is more likely to result when federal expenditure decisions that apply to our region are made at the local level.

The proper goal is to get rid of wasteful or corrupt earmarks, not to eliminate a legitimate earmark process for distributing federal aid.