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Show THE VOICE OF BUSINESS Faghvirag iBirfBsrfion grcanff by grcanfl c By Richard L. Lesher, President Chamber of Commerce of the United States The following exchange took place at . President Carter's press conference on March 14, 1980: Question: With our efforts to balance the budget will you continue to favor those particular cities and persons within those cities who favor your reelection? The President: We have never favored any person or cities who favored my reelection. The federal government currently disburses nearly 25 billion in so-called discretionary aid to states and localities. Past Administrations both Republican and Democratic have consistently misused the aid to maximize max-imize their advantages by playing pork-barrel pork-barrel politics. Spending other people's money to buy influence and votes is the principal reason Washington has become such a vicious engine of inflation. Indeed, the practice permeates nearly all federal spending, because the temptation to dole out "free" goodies is virtually ir-resistable. ir-resistable. And once the money is spent, the federal government often reaps an even bigger windfall: The ability to control larger and larger chunks of the economy, to the detriment detri-ment of competitive markets in local areas. As noted at the outset, the President disassociated himself from these shoddy shod-dy practices at his March 14 press conference. con-ference. In fact, he assured his obviously obvious-ly mininformed questioner that this Administration Ad-ministration has never, never, ever engaged in such naughty pork-barrel politics. Considering our nearly 20 percent per-cent inflation rate, it's comforting to learn the political equivalent of "Reach Out and Touch Someone" has finally been purged from official Washington. What puzzles me, however, is why so many supposedly reliable publications have also been either misinformed, or kept in the dark about the President's good news. "The Wall Street Journal," for example, noted on March 6 that the president's skills in dispensing or j! withholding presidential favors is 1.; ing him win support of influei , Democrats around the country. 'K Journal" noted: "Iowa, Maine and -Hampshire received special House treatment because they held ' year's first three Democratic car and primary contests. ..In January 'i example, Maine received fed' grants double those of a year earhV.: Equally curious was a New Vf Times headline last' November "Presidential Power Helps Carter New York Support." "The Times" article then observ" "...It is no coincidence that mayor , a group, are the most decidely Carter, at least in this state. Cabinet ficials and Carter campaign aides'." blatantly talking about how rC federal money is available to cities "We have nothing to lose by g.j with Carter and getting what we;: from him," said an upstate mayor; asked not to be identified. And whatever possessed "Tt;; magazine, in an article last Octobt:; about the upcoming Florida preside j poll, to make this shocking statenv; "For the past several months,;: White House has been raining apr ments and grants on the state." n In a report about that same Fla poll in its October 20 edition, the:; tional conservative weekly, "Hu; Events", even went so far as to refills re-fills obviously absurd comment f:-one f:-one local Democratic Congressn." "We're getting money for highways housing, for hospitals. One more g and the state will sink under the wt;i of these projects." But what really got me confused7 another misinformed comment frw totally unexpected source. While i : paigning through the West last sp: : the President opened his ai--spreading federal largesse far and -"-at every stop. Someone innoa-wondered innoa-wondered at the purpose of all th.-; nouncements: "That's how a President c: paigns," replied the President's gi.: ing press secretary, Jody PoweU.'.i The President did warn us that war on inflation will be a long haul." an expensive one at that, I might ' - |