PORK BY ANY OTHER NAME
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 -- 11:11 AM
If the Marshfield to Osseo stretch of USH 10 is ever to become four lanes, it will probably require a good deal of "pork barrel" spending, but is that such a bad thing?Studies have shown nearly all economic development occurs within a few miles of a 4-lane highway. That's a major reason city leaders from Neillsville and Osseo are so concerned that the state doesn't plan to upgrade USH 10 from Marshfield to I-94.
But, seeing traffic counts don't justify the project, those lobbying for that 4-lane stretch of road will have to rely on political maneuvering and government earmarks to pay for the project.
At a meeting on the subject last week, a representative from Sen. Kohl's office informed the group there was a strong move to eliminate earmarks from the federal budget-writing process. Those earmarks have traditionally been away for Congress to return money for special projects in their districts.
"I have to tell you, right now, the state's in debt," mentioned Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford), "Our projections, as conservative as they were, are not living up to expectations."
State Sen. Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) noted "pork" was in the eye of the beholder.
"We're in such a culture now that everything government does has to be inherently evil," Kreitlow lamented, "There's very few people willing to stand up and defend anything we do."
Kreitlow drew a distinction between "pork" and earmarks. "An earmark is one of your local elected officials fighting to make sure that, if there's a pot of money someplace for a general purpose, that a specific part of that pot will be earmarked for their district."
"Getting a four-lane highway through Neillsville would be a very good and responsible use for an earmark."
Just a study of the project would cost several million dollars, according to a DOT official.
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