(Washington, D.C.) - Today Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), the nation’s premiere taxpayer watchdog, and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR), Tennessee’s free market think tank gathered in the Senate Library in the Tennessee State Capitol to unveil the 2009 Tennessee Pork Report:  The Book Nashville Doesn't Want You to Read.  Featured speakers included TCPR President Drew Johnson and CAGW Vice President for Policy David Williams.  The report is the fourth Tennessee Pork Report in as many years to expose wasteful spending by the state.  The Tennessee Pork Report combines elements of two perennial CAGW publications, the Congressional Pig Book and Prime Cuts, with TCPR’s knowledge of the Tennessee state budget.  The report exposes many areas in the state budget where wasteful spending can be eliminated, providing a valuable resource to legislators and taxpayers. 

“With state lawmakers considering tax increases, the 2009 Tennessee Pork Report exposes hundreds of millions of dollars in unjustifiable spending that should eliminated before Tennesseans are asked to pay another dime in taxes,” said TCPR President Drew Johnson.  In total, the Pork Report uncovers nearly 100 examples of wasteful and questionable spending by state and local governments, including:

•    $9 million for the “Party Bunker,” an underground entertainment facility buried in the front yard of the Governor’s Mansion;

•    $7.4 million to finance government-approved art, including a grant to an author of sex novels and support for a film festival showing “porn-influenced sexual encounters;”

•    $6.5 million to “eradicate” boll weevils, even though Tennessee’s cotton fields are already more than 99 percent free of the pest;

•    $2.3 million to bailout 11 insolvent state-owned golf courses; and

•    $482,572 to fund the “Barge to Nowhere,” a ferry that carries fewer than 17 passengers per day.

“Tennessee taxpayers deserve better,” said CAGW V.P. for Policy David Williams.  “From money-losing state-run golf courses to offensive art, Tennessee politicians and bureaucrats are out of touch with hard-working Tennesseans, who are being asked to sacrifice while politicians and bureaucrats continue to mortgage the future of Tennessee taxpayers.”  The report is available online at www.tennesseepolicy.org.  To schedule an interview, please contact Leslie Paige at 202-467-5300 or lpaige@cagw.org, or Suzanne Michel at 615-383-6431 or suzanne@tennesseepolicy.org. 

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  The Tennessee Center for Policy Research is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to providing concerned citizens, the media and public leaders with expert empirical research and timely free market policy solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee.