Presidential Pork

Presidential Pork

Author: John Hudak

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2014-02-27

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0815725205

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Presidential earmarks? Perhaps even more so than their counterparts in Congress, presidents have the motive and the means to politicize spending for political power. But do they? In Presidential Pork, John Hudak explains and interprets presidential efforts to control federal spending and accumulate electoral rewards from that power. The projects that members of Congress secure for their constituents certainly attract attention. Political pundits still chuckle about the “Bridge to Nowhere.” But Hudak clearly illustrates that while Congress claims credit for earmarks and pet projects, the practice is alive and well in the White House, too. More than any representative or senator, presidents engage in pork barrel spending in a comprehensive and systematic way to advance their electoral interests. It will come as no surprise that the White House often steers the enormous federal bureaucracy to spend funds in swing states. It is a major advantage that only incumbents enjoy. Hudak reconceptualizes the way in which we view the U.S. presidency and the goals and behaviors of those who hold the nation’s highest office. He illustrates that presidents and their White Houses are indeed complicit in distributing presidential pork—and how they do it. The result is an illuminating and highly original take on presidential power and public policy.


Book Synopsis Presidential Pork by : John Hudak

Download or read book Presidential Pork written by John Hudak and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2014-02-27 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presidential earmarks? Perhaps even more so than their counterparts in Congress, presidents have the motive and the means to politicize spending for political power. But do they? In Presidential Pork, John Hudak explains and interprets presidential efforts to control federal spending and accumulate electoral rewards from that power. The projects that members of Congress secure for their constituents certainly attract attention. Political pundits still chuckle about the “Bridge to Nowhere.” But Hudak clearly illustrates that while Congress claims credit for earmarks and pet projects, the practice is alive and well in the White House, too. More than any representative or senator, presidents engage in pork barrel spending in a comprehensive and systematic way to advance their electoral interests. It will come as no surprise that the White House often steers the enormous federal bureaucracy to spend funds in swing states. It is a major advantage that only incumbents enjoy. Hudak reconceptualizes the way in which we view the U.S. presidency and the goals and behaviors of those who hold the nation’s highest office. He illustrates that presidents and their White Houses are indeed complicit in distributing presidential pork—and how they do it. The result is an illuminating and highly original take on presidential power and public policy.


The Pig Book

The Pig Book

Author: Citizens Against Government Waste

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Published: 2013-09-17

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 146685314X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The federal government wastes your tax dollars worse than a drunken sailor on shore leave. The 1984 Grace Commission uncovered that the Department of Defense spent $640 for a toilet seat and $436 for a hammer. Twenty years later things weren't much better. In 2004, Congress spent a record-breaking $22.9 billion dollars of your money on 10,656 of their pork-barrel projects. The war on terror has a lot to do with the record $413 billion in deficit spending, but it's also the result of pork over the last 18 years the likes of: - $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa - $102 million to study screwworms which were long ago eradicated from American soil - $273,000 to combat goth culture in Missouri - $2.2 million to renovate the North Pole (Lucky for Santa!) - $50,000 for a tattoo removal program in California - $1 million for ornamental fish research Funny in some instances and jaw-droppingly stupid and wasteful in others, The Pig Book proves one thing about Capitol Hill: pork is king!


Book Synopsis The Pig Book by : Citizens Against Government Waste

Download or read book The Pig Book written by Citizens Against Government Waste and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2013-09-17 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The federal government wastes your tax dollars worse than a drunken sailor on shore leave. The 1984 Grace Commission uncovered that the Department of Defense spent $640 for a toilet seat and $436 for a hammer. Twenty years later things weren't much better. In 2004, Congress spent a record-breaking $22.9 billion dollars of your money on 10,656 of their pork-barrel projects. The war on terror has a lot to do with the record $413 billion in deficit spending, but it's also the result of pork over the last 18 years the likes of: - $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa - $102 million to study screwworms which were long ago eradicated from American soil - $273,000 to combat goth culture in Missouri - $2.2 million to renovate the North Pole (Lucky for Santa!) - $50,000 for a tattoo removal program in California - $1 million for ornamental fish research Funny in some instances and jaw-droppingly stupid and wasteful in others, The Pig Book proves one thing about Capitol Hill: pork is king!


Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars

Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars

Author:

Publisher: Cambria Press

Published:

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1621968952

DOWNLOAD EBOOK


Book Synopsis Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars by :

Download or read book Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars written by and published by Cambria Press. This book was released on with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Pork Barrel Politics

Pork Barrel Politics

Author: Andrew H. Sidman

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2019-08-06

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 0231550405

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Conventional wisdom holds that legislators who bring “pork”—federal funds for local projects—back home to their districts are better able to fend off potential challengers. For more than four decades, however, the empirical support for this belief has been mixed. Some studies have found that securing federal spending has no electoral effects at best or can even cost incumbent legislators votes. In Pork Barrel Politics, Andrew H. Sidman offers a systematic explanation for how political polarization affects the electoral influence of district-level federal spending. He argues that the average voter sees the pork barrel as an aspect of the larger issue of government spending, determined by partisanship and ideology. It is only when the political world becomes more divided over everything else that the average voter pays attention to pork, linking it to their general preferences over government spending. Using data on pork barrel spending from 1986 through 2012 and public works spending since 1876 along with analyses of district-level outcomes and incumbent success, Sidman demonstrates the rising power of polarization in United States elections. During periods of low polarization, pork barrel spending has little impact, but when polarization is high, it affects primary competition, campaign spending, and vote share in general elections. Pork Barrel Politics is an empirically rich account of the surprising repercussions of bringing pork home, with important consequences in our polarized era.


Book Synopsis Pork Barrel Politics by : Andrew H. Sidman

Download or read book Pork Barrel Politics written by Andrew H. Sidman and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conventional wisdom holds that legislators who bring “pork”—federal funds for local projects—back home to their districts are better able to fend off potential challengers. For more than four decades, however, the empirical support for this belief has been mixed. Some studies have found that securing federal spending has no electoral effects at best or can even cost incumbent legislators votes. In Pork Barrel Politics, Andrew H. Sidman offers a systematic explanation for how political polarization affects the electoral influence of district-level federal spending. He argues that the average voter sees the pork barrel as an aspect of the larger issue of government spending, determined by partisanship and ideology. It is only when the political world becomes more divided over everything else that the average voter pays attention to pork, linking it to their general preferences over government spending. Using data on pork barrel spending from 1986 through 2012 and public works spending since 1876 along with analyses of district-level outcomes and incumbent success, Sidman demonstrates the rising power of polarization in United States elections. During periods of low polarization, pork barrel spending has little impact, but when polarization is high, it affects primary competition, campaign spending, and vote share in general elections. Pork Barrel Politics is an empirically rich account of the surprising repercussions of bringing pork home, with important consequences in our polarized era.


Pork Barrels and Principles

Pork Barrels and Principles

Author: Charles J. Cooper

Publisher:

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK


Book Synopsis Pork Barrels and Principles by : Charles J. Cooper

Download or read book Pork Barrels and Principles written by Charles J. Cooper and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars

Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars

Author: Scott A. Frisch

Publisher:

Published: 2014-05-14

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 9781624991295

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"So much of the literature on presidential influence on congressional voting relies on assertions and assumptions about presidential influence in Congress. This study measures actual presidential influence on a member by member basis. The discovery of the White House records on presidential calls to House members adds a whole new level of depth to our understanding of how the relatively unpopular Carter won those floor votes. This work adds broadly to the dynamics of presidential leadership in Congress. Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars makes a real contribution to the literature on presidential influence in Congress." - Lance T. LeLoup, Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Washington State University "Do you want to know how Washington really works? Read Frisch and Kelly's excellent and well-researched chronicle Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars. They bring to life the events surrounding a critical turning point in the Carter Presidency. This is required reading for anyone interested in presidential leadership in Congress." - Representative Butler Derrick, (D-South Carolina, retired) "Part political history, part political science, this engaging book does both well. Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars is an important addition to our understanding of the Carter presidency. It sheds new light on Carter's legislative leadership and, by focusing on the politics of pork, serves as a backdrop to ongoing debates over congressional expenditures. Combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, Frisch and Kelly not only tell a great story, but also systematically analyze the effect of Carter administration efforts to lobby members of Congress. The result is an important study of presidential influence in Congress." - John Anthony Maltese, Albert Berry Saye Professor of Political Science, University of Georgia


Book Synopsis Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars by : Scott A. Frisch

Download or read book Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars written by Scott A. Frisch and published by . This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "So much of the literature on presidential influence on congressional voting relies on assertions and assumptions about presidential influence in Congress. This study measures actual presidential influence on a member by member basis. The discovery of the White House records on presidential calls to House members adds a whole new level of depth to our understanding of how the relatively unpopular Carter won those floor votes. This work adds broadly to the dynamics of presidential leadership in Congress. Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars makes a real contribution to the literature on presidential influence in Congress." - Lance T. LeLoup, Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Washington State University "Do you want to know how Washington really works? Read Frisch and Kelly's excellent and well-researched chronicle Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars. They bring to life the events surrounding a critical turning point in the Carter Presidency. This is required reading for anyone interested in presidential leadership in Congress." - Representative Butler Derrick, (D-South Carolina, retired) "Part political history, part political science, this engaging book does both well. Jimmy Carter and the Water Wars is an important addition to our understanding of the Carter presidency. It sheds new light on Carter's legislative leadership and, by focusing on the politics of pork, serves as a backdrop to ongoing debates over congressional expenditures. Combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, Frisch and Kelly not only tell a great story, but also systematically analyze the effect of Carter administration efforts to lobby members of Congress. The result is an important study of presidential influence in Congress." - John Anthony Maltese, Albert Berry Saye Professor of Political Science, University of Georgia


Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Author: Henry F. Graff

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2002-08-20

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 9781429998000

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A fresh look at the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms. Though often overlooked, Grover Cleveland was a significant figure in American presidential history. Having run for President three times and gaining the popular vote majority each time -- despite losing the electoral college in 1892 -- Cleveland was unique in the line of nineteenth-century Chief Executives. In this book, presidential historian Henry F. Graff revives Cleveland's fame, explaining how he fought to restore stature to the office in the wake of several weak administrations. Within these pages are the elements of a rags-to-riches story as well as an account of the political world that created American leaders before the advent of modern media.


Book Synopsis Grover Cleveland by : Henry F. Graff

Download or read book Grover Cleveland written by Henry F. Graff and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2002-08-20 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh look at the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms. Though often overlooked, Grover Cleveland was a significant figure in American presidential history. Having run for President three times and gaining the popular vote majority each time -- despite losing the electoral college in 1892 -- Cleveland was unique in the line of nineteenth-century Chief Executives. In this book, presidential historian Henry F. Graff revives Cleveland's fame, explaining how he fought to restore stature to the office in the wake of several weak administrations. Within these pages are the elements of a rags-to-riches story as well as an account of the political world that created American leaders before the advent of modern media.


Selling the President, 1920

Selling the President, 1920

Author: John A. Morello

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2001-04-30

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 0313075263

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Modern advertising moved into the 20th century borne on many vehicles and distinguished by many techniques, three of the most frequently used being reason why advertising, celebrity endorsements, and pre-emptive claims. Best known for his reason why advertising, Albert Davis Lasker, president of the Lord & Thomas Agency of Chicago, championed all three techniques, helping Lucky Strike Cigarettes, Van Camp's Pork & Beans, and Sunkist Oranges become business successes. His least known but best work was in the political area, where he helped the Republicans gain control of Congress in 1918, and with the election of Warren G. Harding, recapture the White House in 1920. This book covers events leading to Harding's nomination and election and the key role Lasker played in his election. Bringing along the tricks he had used to sell soap, beer, cigarettes, and canned food, Lasker plunged into political advertising, forever changing the way political candidates are publicized.


Book Synopsis Selling the President, 1920 by : John A. Morello

Download or read book Selling the President, 1920 written by John A. Morello and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2001-04-30 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern advertising moved into the 20th century borne on many vehicles and distinguished by many techniques, three of the most frequently used being reason why advertising, celebrity endorsements, and pre-emptive claims. Best known for his reason why advertising, Albert Davis Lasker, president of the Lord & Thomas Agency of Chicago, championed all three techniques, helping Lucky Strike Cigarettes, Van Camp's Pork & Beans, and Sunkist Oranges become business successes. His least known but best work was in the political area, where he helped the Republicans gain control of Congress in 1918, and with the election of Warren G. Harding, recapture the White House in 1920. This book covers events leading to Harding's nomination and election and the key role Lasker played in his election. Bringing along the tricks he had used to sell soap, beer, cigarettes, and canned food, Lasker plunged into political advertising, forever changing the way political candidates are publicized.


Reassessing the Presidency

Reassessing the Presidency

Author: David Gordon

Publisher: Ludwig von Mises Institute

Published: 2013-09-19

Total Pages: 619

ISBN-13: 1610166140

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

American Despots

Amazing low sale price in defense of authentic freedom as versus the presidency that betrayed it!

Everyone seems to agree that brutal dictators and despotic rulers deserve scorn and worse. But why have historians been so willing to overlook the despotic actions of the United States' own presidents? You can scour libraries from one end to the other and encounter precious few criticisms of America's worst despots.

The founders imagined that the president would be a collegial leader with precious little power who constantly faced the threat of impeachment. Today, however, the president orders thousands of young men and women to danger and death in foreign lands, rubber stamps regulations that throw enterprises into upheaval, controls the composition of the powerful Federal Reserve, and manages the priorities millions of swarms of bureaucrats that vex the citizenry in every way.

It is not too much of a stretch to say that the president embodies the Leviathan state as we know it. Or, more precisely, it is not an individual president so much as the very institution of the presidency that has been the major impediment of liberty. The presidency as the founders imagined it has been displaced by democratically ratified serial despotism. And, for that reason, it must be stopped.

Every American president seems to strive to make the historians' A-list by doing big and dramatic things—wars, occupations, massive programs, tyrannies large and small—in hopes of being considered among the "greats" such as Lincoln, Wilson, and FDR. They always imagine themselves as honored by future generations: the worse their crimes, the more the accolades.

Well, the free ride ends with Reassessing the Presidency: The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom, edited by John Denson.

This remarkable volume (825 pages including index and bibliography) is the first full-scale revision of the official history of the U.S. executive state. It traces the progression of power exercised by American presidents from the early American Republic up to the eventual reality of the power-hungry Caesars which later appear as president in American history. Contributors examine the usual judgments of the historical profession to show the ugly side of supposed presidential greatness.

The mission inherent in this undertaking is to determine how the presidency degenerated into the office of American Caesar. Did the character of the man who held the office corrupt it, or did the power of the office, as it evolved, corrupt the man? Or was it a combination of the two? Was there too much latent power in the original creation of the office as the Anti-Federalists claimed? Or was the power externally created and added to the position by corrupt or misguided men?

There's never been a better guide to everything awful about American presidents. No, you won't get the civics text approach of see no evil. Essay after essay details depredations that will shock you, and wonder how American liberty could have ever survived in light of the rule of these people.

Contributors include George Bittlingmayer, John V. Denson, Marshall L. DeRosa, Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Lowell Gallaway, Richard M. Gamble, David Gordon, Paul Gottfried, Randall G. Holcombe, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, Michael Levin, Yuri N. Maltsev, William Marina, Ralph Raico, Joseph Salerno, Barry Simpson, Joseph Stromberg, H. Arthur Scott Trask, Richard Vedder, and Clyde Wilson.


Book Synopsis Reassessing the Presidency by : David Gordon

Download or read book Reassessing the Presidency written by David Gordon and published by Ludwig von Mises Institute. This book was released on 2013-09-19 with total page 619 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

American Despots

Amazing low sale price in defense of authentic freedom as versus the presidency that betrayed it!

Everyone seems to agree that brutal dictators and despotic rulers deserve scorn and worse. But why have historians been so willing to overlook the despotic actions of the United States' own presidents? You can scour libraries from one end to the other and encounter precious few criticisms of America's worst despots.

The founders imagined that the president would be a collegial leader with precious little power who constantly faced the threat of impeachment. Today, however, the president orders thousands of young men and women to danger and death in foreign lands, rubber stamps regulations that throw enterprises into upheaval, controls the composition of the powerful Federal Reserve, and manages the priorities millions of swarms of bureaucrats that vex the citizenry in every way.

It is not too much of a stretch to say that the president embodies the Leviathan state as we know it. Or, more precisely, it is not an individual president so much as the very institution of the presidency that has been the major impediment of liberty. The presidency as the founders imagined it has been displaced by democratically ratified serial despotism. And, for that reason, it must be stopped.

Every American president seems to strive to make the historians' A-list by doing big and dramatic things—wars, occupations, massive programs, tyrannies large and small—in hopes of being considered among the "greats" such as Lincoln, Wilson, and FDR. They always imagine themselves as honored by future generations: the worse their crimes, the more the accolades.

Well, the free ride ends with Reassessing the Presidency: The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom, edited by John Denson.

This remarkable volume (825 pages including index and bibliography) is the first full-scale revision of the official history of the U.S. executive state. It traces the progression of power exercised by American presidents from the early American Republic up to the eventual reality of the power-hungry Caesars which later appear as president in American history. Contributors examine the usual judgments of the historical profession to show the ugly side of supposed presidential greatness.

The mission inherent in this undertaking is to determine how the presidency degenerated into the office of American Caesar. Did the character of the man who held the office corrupt it, or did the power of the office, as it evolved, corrupt the man? Or was it a combination of the two? Was there too much latent power in the original creation of the office as the Anti-Federalists claimed? Or was the power externally created and added to the position by corrupt or misguided men?

There's never been a better guide to everything awful about American presidents. No, you won't get the civics text approach of see no evil. Essay after essay details depredations that will shock you, and wonder how American liberty could have ever survived in light of the rule of these people.

Contributors include George Bittlingmayer, John V. Denson, Marshall L. DeRosa, Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Lowell Gallaway, Richard M. Gamble, David Gordon, Paul Gottfried, Randall G. Holcombe, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, Michael Levin, Yuri N. Maltsev, William Marina, Ralph Raico, Joseph Salerno, Barry Simpson, Joseph Stromberg, H. Arthur Scott Trask, Richard Vedder, and Clyde Wilson.


The Presidential Appointee's Handbook

The Presidential Appointee's Handbook

Author: G. Edward DeSeve

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2016-12-20

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 0815728948

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

" A guide to competencies needed by the federal government’s new top officials. The transition from one president to another, regardless of which party wins the 2016 elections, will mean many things, one of which is that some 3,000 to 4,000 new senior presidential appointees will take office in the first months of 2017. They will join some 6,000 members of the Senior Executive Service and nearly 1,000 admirals and generals already working in the top ranks of government. But the little-known truth is that the federal government has no formal, or even informal, continual learning program for its new high-level managers. If history is a guide, many of the next president's appointees will never have served in the federal government or, indeed, at any level of government. This means that they will need to hone their considerable skills to meet new challenges. This new, revised, and updated edition of the The Presidential Appointee’s Handbook is intended to fill the need for learning by helping new presidential appointees develop the knowledge, skills, and capabilities they will need in their challenging assignments. Additionally, the new edition provides frameworks for success in areas such as strategic foresight, planning for results, risk management, and resilience that are designed to give appointees templates for achieving their goals. Blending theory with the demands of day-to-day practice, the book clarifies the roles and responsibilities of top government executives, helps them build a network of shared experiences and relationships, and lays out common competencies and codes of proper behavior for government leaders at all levels. "


Book Synopsis The Presidential Appointee's Handbook by : G. Edward DeSeve

Download or read book The Presidential Appointee's Handbook written by G. Edward DeSeve and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2016-12-20 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " A guide to competencies needed by the federal government’s new top officials. The transition from one president to another, regardless of which party wins the 2016 elections, will mean many things, one of which is that some 3,000 to 4,000 new senior presidential appointees will take office in the first months of 2017. They will join some 6,000 members of the Senior Executive Service and nearly 1,000 admirals and generals already working in the top ranks of government. But the little-known truth is that the federal government has no formal, or even informal, continual learning program for its new high-level managers. If history is a guide, many of the next president's appointees will never have served in the federal government or, indeed, at any level of government. This means that they will need to hone their considerable skills to meet new challenges. This new, revised, and updated edition of the The Presidential Appointee’s Handbook is intended to fill the need for learning by helping new presidential appointees develop the knowledge, skills, and capabilities they will need in their challenging assignments. Additionally, the new edition provides frameworks for success in areas such as strategic foresight, planning for results, risk management, and resilience that are designed to give appointees templates for achieving their goals. Blending theory with the demands of day-to-day practice, the book clarifies the roles and responsibilities of top government executives, helps them build a network of shared experiences and relationships, and lays out common competencies and codes of proper behavior for government leaders at all levels. "