More Horse-Trading, Please

Earmarks are suddenly in vogue. The practice, which enabled members of Congress to direct appropriations to pet projects, was banned in 2011. President Donald Trump last week suggested it might be time to bring them back -- and he might be on to something.

Earmarks attracted a lot of justified mockery (anyone remember the "Bridge to Nowhere"?) and unjustified effort (in 2005, there were almost 35,000 earmark requests). But they were never a big part of federal spending; at their peak, in 2006, they accounted for $67 billion of a $2.5-trillion-plus budget. And they were a significant tool to direct federal dollars to local needs, including the occasional boondoggle.