Piggy tokens

[Figleaf]

Isn't there a US expression that uses "pork" to indicate misappropriation of funds for local political purposes?

Peter

[malj1]

pork-barrelling

    the utilisation of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes.
    "the major parties have hijacked the elections with their shameless pork-barrelling"

[Prosit]

also
Pork-barrel politics is the legislator's practice of slipping funding for a local project into a budget. The project may have nothing to do with the bill and may benefit only the legislator's home .

Examples are just far too numerous to get into.

A law preventing that is the first law I can think of off the top of my head that I would want passed immediately if I was in politics.
Oh yeah, I would want to address questionable and misleading advertising as well as non-solicited  marketing techniques.
Oh and the congressional and senatorial practice of voting for members who are absent
and,
and,
and 


Dale

pork-barrelling

    the utilisation of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes.
    "the major parties have hijacked the elections with their shameless pork-barrelling"

[brandm24]

It could be a political protest of sorts. I'm not sure what anecdotal evidence Brunk had that suggested a Massachusetts connection.

Political "pork" is a big problem here. It's use attaches all sorts of provisions to legislation that in many cases isn't relevant to the central purpose of the bill. The concept of the "line-item-veto" was an attempt to allow a veto of wasteful or unrelated provisions while still allowing acceptance of the main legislation. For whatever reason, it was recently struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.

Bruce

[Prosit]

Line item veto may be unconstitutional but I imagine a law requiring a bill to remain on subject could be written that would  work.
I would like a bill to say the subject at the first in one sentence.  However having to say anything in one sentence may be beyond politicians abilities. 

Dale

It could be a political protest of sorts. I'm not sure what anecdotal evidence Brunk had that suggested a Massachusetts connection.

Political "pork" is a big problem here. It's use attaches all sorts of provisions to legislation that in many cases isn't relevant to the central purpose of the bill. The concept of the "line-item-veto" was an attempt to allow a veto of wasteful or unrelated provisions while still allowing acceptance of the main legislation. For whatever reason, it was recently struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.

Bruce

[brandm24]

This one is a break with the "happy pig" theme of the thread but is still a piggy token...well, a boar actually.

Nevertheless, this angry looking critter is one of the devices on an American Hard Times token issued in 1834. Skipping most of the messy political details that lead to the hard times that engulfed America in the late 1830's and early 1840's, this particular series of satirical tokens was directed at President Andrew Jackson. He was very suspicious of a central banking system, and after his reelection in 1832 called for the abolition of the 2nd Bank of the United States. The practical result of his feud led to economic recession and thus the "Hard Times" This series of tokens were in effect substitute currency during the economic crisis. As always, people hoard circulating currency in these dire situations and make conducting business difficult.

This particular token is one of a series called Running Boar tokens.

Bruce