The Beacon Center of Tennessee's 2014 Pork Report roasts government spending that the center claims is wasteful, including $42 million for a private jetport in Cleveland, Tennessee.
"Apparently," the report says, "Cleveland officials felt our well-to-do comrades should not be relegated to commuting with the common folk from the Chattanooga airport."
In this segment, that claim is examined--did the money truly come from Tennessee taxpayers? Were the jetport's upscale furnishings bought with public funds? Why does Cleveland's Mayor, Tom Rowland, characterize the jetport as a business investment rather than pork?
The report's most startling claim is also examined--the 2014 "Pork of the Year" prizewinner. According to the report, up to $181 million of unemployment benefits were paid to dead people, felons in prison, and other people who weren't supposed to receive unemployment checks.