The NYT noted the growth of earmarks in recent years, and told readers that the total for all these little pet projects of powerful politicians comes to $11 billion a year. Is this a big deal? It comes to about 0.4 percent of federal spending next year. Alternatively, it's approximately equal to what we spend every month on the war in Iraq. In short, it's not trivial, but earmarks do not explain the country's budget problems.
--Dean Baker
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