Evidently, for those who voted against this bailout bill just days ago, putting lipstick on a pig can be quite appealing.
Because all it took for them to compromise their born-again fiscal virtue were billions of dollars in pork-barrel spending that have been larded onto this $700 billion bill.
This includes new earmarks for a $2 million tax benefit for makers of wooden arrows for children; a $100 million tax break to benefit auto racetrack owners; $192 million in rebates on excise taxes for the Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum industry; $148 million in tax relief for U.S. wool fabric producers; and a $49 million tax benefit for fishermen and other plaintiffs who sued over the 1989 tanker Exxon Valdez spill.
Meanwhile, I feel obliged to reiterate that, even though nobody really knows if this bailout will stave off the depression we all fear, I support this bill because it’s the only bi-partisan measure that is in the offing to address this growing (worldwide) economic crisis.
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