An op-ed in the May 17 Washington Post by Colbert King showed that earmarks know no boundaries.  King cited $56 million in projects in the District of Columbia’s budget that were “initiated and approved by the [city] council without extensive executive branch review.” 

The earmarks in the city’s fiscal year 2009 budget include:

• $10 million for a Ford’s Theatre program;
• $1 million for the Lincoln Theatre;
• $500,000 for the Washington Opera;
• $332,000 to restore murals at Tivoli Theater; and
• $300,000 for the National Building Museum.

If these projects sound familiar, it is due to the fact that Citizens Against Government Waste has found thousands of similar expenditures over the years in its Congressional Pig Book.  CAGW has also exposed such projects at the state level, most recently in the 2008 Illinois Piglet Book and the 2008 Tennessee Pork Report.  Residents of the District of Columbia have the fourth latest Tax Freedom Day in the nation (May 3), according to The Tax Foundation.  Less pork might change that to a more reasonable date.