Bailout won't pass? Throw in more pork.

[randomness]

As it turns out, one of the ways Congress has come up with to get the MOAB (Mother of All Bailouts) to pass is the time-honored way of adding more pork to it. Mmmm...pork.

From http://tbm.thebigmoney.com/articles/juicy-bits/2008/10/01/bailout-baloney:

Save the world economy! Save the wooden arrows for children! The Senate is doing both tonight. The 451-page Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 includes a number of tax relief measures added in presumably to garner votes; certainly few seem to respond to an emergency, or do anything particularly stabilizing. Here are the juicy bits from the bill that help some special interests or regions.

DIVISION C-TAX EXTENDERS AND ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX RELIEF

SEC. 308. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COVER OVER OF RUM EXCISE TAX TO PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

SEC. 309. EXTENSION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CREDIT FOR AMERICAN SAMOA.

SEC. 317. SEVEN-YEAR COST RECOVERY PERIOD FOR MOTORSPORTS RACING TRACK FACILITY.

SEC. 325. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF DUTY SUSPENSION ON WOOL PRODUCTS; WOOL RESEARCH FUND; WOOL DUTY REFUNDS.

SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.

Perhaps modifications like this will help get them the votes they need in the House.

Edit: According to Forbes, the additional provisions add $110 billion to the cost of the bailout, which makes it an $810 billion package.

Comments

The pork wasn't added to the bailout, the bailout was added to the pork

[fin9901.livejournal.com]

All financial bills have to start in the House as per the Constitution, so the Senate pulled a trick they first tried something like 10-20 years ago: take some innocuous House bill, add this big honking thing onto it, and send it back to the House. In this case the innocuous bill in question had already passed the Senate with 90+ votes and the House with 400+ votes. If the House had any self-respect, they'd step up and say 'this is a horrible way to run a railroad, let us originate this like the Constitution says we should' and vote it down, but they already tried that and it failed, so I expect the House will just go along meekly like the last time this stunt was tried.

So the crap wasn't added to the bailout, the bailout was added to the crap.

Re: The pork wasn't added to the bailout, the bailout was added to the pork

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

As I said in comments above, I've heard a refutation of that argument. At this point it hardly matters, as there's plenty of crap to go around.