Pork: A Time-Honored Tradition Lives On

p. 180-182

I found the origin of the "pork barrel" very interesting. I would have never guessed that it referred to the barrel of salt pork given to a slave as a reward for hard work. After reading the article it was crystal clear that many people that some "pork" items are wasteful while others think that "pork-barreling" is why people elect Representatives. The three types of "pork" discussed in the excerpt were green, defense, and academic. From what I understood pork barreling was using money for projects that go to a particular area or district. Pork barreling can help re-elect incumbents and "keep the wheels of legislation turning ..." The last paragraph stated that because of the increasing budget crunch there is more competition to get "pet projects" and that the pool of available funds has shrunk.