POLSC232: American Government

Read this article on the use of logrolling and the pork barrel in political compromise. Logrolling is the trading of favors, or quid pro quo, such as vote trading by two (or more) legislative members to obtain passage of bills of interest to each member. This practice is common in many legislative bodies, including Congress, that often want to secure passage of bills that provide sizable benefits in their home districts. Most logrolling typically involves "pork barrel" funding for government programs whose economic or service benefits are concentrated in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers. Public works projects, certain national defense spending projects, and agricultural subsidies are the most common examples