There is already much gnashing of teeth among Missouri’s political class over President Barack Obama’s decision to exclude the Boeing C-17 cargo plane from the federal budget. Sen. Kit Bond is lobbying to keep the program alive, despite the fact that the Pentagon has repeatedly told the federal government that it already has more than enough C-17s. To members of Congress, there is no such thing as pork if it goes to their constituents.
There are about 900 jobs in the Saint Louis area involved in manufacturing the aircraft, and if its production is ultimately discontinued, they will no doubt be at least temporarily worse off. However, if we want to have lower taxes in the future, we must cut spending and pork projects like the C-17 — even though they are a small part of the total budget — are one of the easier places to start. If such wasteful programs are eliminated, the money spent on them can be returned to the people of Missouri, who can spend it on far more beneficial things than a redundant, military-industrial complex boondoggle.
