Free political ads paid by taxpayers

Check out this post at POLICY BLOG about politicians who routinely pose with giant cardboard checks.

I'd like to see every newspaper in Pennsylvania agree to stop using these staged publicity photos, which is essentially free political advertising for the incumbents. It's also pork spending by Harrisburg politicians.

"These corporate welfare schemes aren't effective tools for improving our economic climate, and almost no one would defend the all the pork projects worthy of taxpayer subsidy," according to POLICY BLOG.

So far, only one incumbent, state Sen. John Eichelberger has promised never to be caught handing out one of these bogus checks. That leaves 252 other state lawmakers (and don't even bother bringing up Gov. Ed Rendell. He's got a stack of checks in the trunk of his limo.)

Voters should make a mental note of which politicians they see handing out these giant cardboard checks and vote against them. That should put an end to the practice.