First the stimulus was about creating-or-saving jobs. Then Obama announced that its point was to retain emergency services and teachers and that it "has done its job." Now, as unemployment rises beyond anything Obama originally predicted, that whole jobs thing has been dropped and it's about building a "smart grid"
But those who have followed the money find that 90% of the stimulus spent thus far has gone to bail out mismanaged states. Stephen Spruiell reports:
The study found that 90 percent of the stimulus funds spent so far have gone toward bailouts for fiscally irresponsible state governments. These states made commitments on health care and education spending commensurate to what they could afford during the boom years. When the economy crashed and tax revenues dried up, they had no way to pay for these commitments short of raising taxes, which none of them wanted to do. (Most states' constitutions restrict their ability to run deficits.)
This is what the stimulus was really all about — not creating or "saving" jobs, but preventing states from suffering the consequences of their profligacy. To think that even with this generous bailout, the state of California has been reduced to issuing IOUs... it's just amazing. One positive note: "As of June 30, 2009, of the 16 states and the District, only Texas had not submitted an [State Fiscal Stabilization Fund] application." A lone star above an otherwise dismal landscape. [emphasis added]
Bailing out state governments may 'save' some incompetent/irresponsible governors' and bureaucrats' jobs, I suppose. And some people did have their shovels ready, at least metaphorically, to shunt our tax dollars to epic failures like California. The stimulus is a con. I mean, it was too small. So let's do it again.
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