Reply #2: I think people fundamentally don't get earmarks

[Recursion]

Earmarks do not add one cent to Federal spending; they're the Congresscritters' way of telling the executive how the appropriated money should be spent. Now, of course there's cronyism and nepotism and all other sorts of shenanigans involved in there, but I think actually ending the practice entirely would be a bad idea and put too much power in the hands of agency and department heads.