Earmarks Are Back, and They're Just as Sleazy and Secretive as Ever
Lawmakers packed $8 billion of pork into the omnibus bill that passed Congress last night.
Earmarks
Federal Spending Is Out of Control. No, Earmarks Won't Change That.
Congress throws far too much money at special interests.
Bringing Earmarks Back Won't Fix Congress
Eliminating earmarks didn't make the government smaller. But reinstating them would facilitate legislative corruption.
Republicans Have Made Two Arguments for Bringing Back Earmarks. They're Both Wrong.
Republicans took control of Congress in 2010, in part, by promising to kill earmarks. They might lose Congress in 2018 by bringing them back to life.
The Case For Back-Room Deals, Party Hacks & Unlimited Money in Politics
Jonathan Rauch's Political Realism argues that libertarians should embrace "transactional politics" if they want big changes.