I’ve talked a lot about the pork-filled highway bill recently passed by the U.S. House of well, er they call themselves Representatives. But what can be done to stop these pork-fests that waste our money?

First, we must devolve power from Washington back to the states and localities, where voters have at least some measure of influence on their elected officials. Why should the politicians most removed from our control Washington congressmen take the biggest bite out of our wallet? What possible rationale exists for sending tax dollars from our own states to Congress for highways, or education, or welfare just so Congress can take a cut and then ship the money back? The best way to stop the bandits in Congress is never to let them get their slimy little fingers on our tax dollars to begin with.

Our state representatives are closer to us, we can see them face to face; they are more vulnerable at the polls because the advantages of incumbency are less; and, in 24 states, we have the citizen initiative process to overrule them.

Second, we need term limits. The longer people stay in Congress, the more they tax and spend. Why? Because they realize their personal power and influence is directly tied to the power and control exercised by the federal government. The longer they stay, the easier it gets to spend millions and billions and trillions of other people’s money. Term limits keep those in office a few steps closer to the real world, where the rest of us live. Nowhere would term limits reverse incentives more than in our pork-barreling Congress.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.