Where did the phrase “pork barrel” come from?

Origins of the Time period “Pork Barrel”

Using the phrase “pork barrel” in referring to doubtful authorities spending dates at the very least to the second half of the nineteenth century. It initially referred to any cash a authorities spent on its residents, however “pork barrel spending” quickly got here to consult with members of Congress funding questionable tasks of their dwelling districts for political acquire.

It has been recommended the phrase was derived from when enslaved folks would scramble for his or her shares of salted pork, which individuals who owned slaves gave to them in barrels as a “reward.” The literal use of “pork barrel” dates way back to the early 1700s. Earlier than refrigeration, pork was salted and preserved in massive picket barrels.

“Pork Barrel Spending”

The utilization of “pork barrel” to explain public spending is believed up to now to 1863 within the story “The Kids of the Public,” written by Edward Everett Hale. It was not till about 10 years later that the phrase and the associated idea of pork barrel politics got here to imply spending by a politician achieved primarily for the advantage of a gaggle of individuals in trade for his or her assist. This assist often comes within the type of votes for politicians or cash donated to their marketing campaign.

Pork barrel spending has come to imply spending on public works tasks of doubtful worth in trade for political assist, typically on the expense of the pursuits of the broader public. Cash and politics typically go hand in hand as the price of mounting an efficient political marketing campaign is kind of excessive.

Whereas it wasn’t but known as pork barrel spending, Thomas Jefferson condemned the follow in a letter to James Madison in 1796, calling it a “supply of boundless patronage to the manager” and a “bottomless abyss of public cash.”

Examples of Pork Barrel Spending

Some of the well-known up to date examples of pork barrel spending was the so-called Bridge to Nowhere. Congress permitted a $223 million earmark for a bridge connecting two small cities rural Alaska in 2005. The mission turned a logo of wasteful spending, and years later was scrapped altogether in favor of upgrading the native ferry system.

One other instance was the Huge Dig mission in Boston, through which a 3.5-mile part of freeway was relocated underground. Then-Speaker of the Home Tip O’Neill, of Massachusetts, secured the primary federal funds for the mission in 1982. It finally price $15 billion, about 5 instances the preliminary estimate.