What is pork?

While many Southerners can appreciate the taste of fine country ham, there's another kind of "pork" that can raise political rankles from sea to shining sea.

The practice of Congressional earmarks, often called pork-barrel spending, is derided by some groups as glorified vote-purchasing -- members of Congress designate projects for federal spending in their home districts and insert them into larger spending bills -- sometimes anonymously, sometimes in highly unrelated bills.

To be sure, there are numerous egregious examples of earmarks gone bad, with Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) and the "Bridge to Nowhere" being a most recent example.

But part of Tennessee's Democratic Congressional delegation today made their earmark goals for the coming year public, as noted by a story in today's Tennessean. While even those within the group publicizing the often-secret requests disagree as to the merits of the earmark system, their forthcoming step shows a tacit knowledge that not all local projects are merely worthless "pork." Rep. Jim Cooper (D) was quoted in the article:

"Earmarks (the special funding projects) can be spent wisely, but there is no safeguard," Cooper said. "I think a process so open to abuse has to be curbed."

And wise spending is the key.

In many areas, especially in the South, local governments are strapped for cash, and local resources are in desperate need of improvement. Where there's a need, it is often only the federal government who can meet it. While bridges to nowhere when a ferry service would do are in the extreme, projects from dam improvements on the Tennessee River to community centers in cities like Atlanta, Nashville and Birmingham make a difference in our economy and the lives of thousands of citizens.

So let's be realistic when we talk about the evils of "pork" spending, and recognize that the earmark process needs to be cleaned up, not eliminated. Before you condemn it all, sit back, take a bite of that country ham, and remind yourself that not all government spending is wasteful.