The cruise-ship provision, however, is about more than pork-barrel politics.
But a bigger reason is that pork-barrel politics is deeply ingrained.
The project was widely criticized as a stark example of pork-barrel politics, and early in 1991 Congress voted to withdraw it.
What might be called pork-barrel politics also played a role.
There is virtually no justification for the subsidies apart from pork-barrel politics.
The 9/11 commission has also called for changing the formula so that it is based on threat and risk, not pork-barrel politics.
"This is pork-barrel politics at its worst," the letter said.
Italy is in the throes of an unlikely transformation from a land run by pork-barrel politics to a more accountable political system.
But the proposals are not just pork-barrel politics.
And with the spread of competitive elections has come the perceived need for pork-barrel politics.