As a one of the 86 million Americans without health insurance, I was reminded recently (as I prepare to shell out a few grand to pay for some dental work out of pocket*) of how our nation is basically running on a half-empty tank sloshing with greed, graft, and entitlement. When it comes to health care, the last thing I’m worried about is  pork viruses, it’s pork barrels that concern me. As legislators prepare to leave our grandchildren an $11 Trillion legacy of fiscal irresponsibility , I feel pretty confident that none of the politicians that are “fixing” things have pondered cutting back their expenses. The next time you’re comparing prices to make a smart purchase at the supermarket, ponder the fact that your tax dollars are buying your congessman lunch at a place like Charlie Palmer’s, where he’ll start with with the Duo Of Hudson Valley Foie Gras ($22), move on to the Line Caught Wild Striped Bass ($29), and finish with the Meyer Lemon Tart ($8). I don’t know about you, but that’s about what I spend on groceries for a WEEK! Check out this list of perks members of congress receive on top of their $170,000 a year salary. It seems to me that while the government funnels money around to bail out businesses that are “too big to fail”, they would do well to reconsider the way they run the business they’re running, the government. Take for example the story of that $600 million dollar device that the Census Bureau won’t be using to count us so they can continue funding their lunches and limos by accurately taxing us. If you’d like to learn more about how your pork is being pulled, check out Citizens Against Government Waste’s 2009 Pig Book. Oink!

*For the record, it’s still costing me less than if I’d been paying for crappy dental insurance all along…