Cheese factories on the moon

About this book

From the publisher. In recent years, special congressional appropriations{u2014}"earmarks"{u2014}have become synonymous with wasteful government spending and corruption. In this timely, provocative, and highly-readable book Frisch and Kelly challenge the conventional wisdom arguing that earmarks are good for American democracy. They argue that the Founders of the American republic invested the power of the purse in the U.S. Congress to ensure that spending would reflect the priorities of constituents and to balance the legislature against the executive branch of government. Cheese Factories on the Moon is a much-needed challenge to a widespread but deeply flawed "consensus" about what is wrong with congressional appropriations earmarks.