former Chief Recovery Officer, State of Vermont
Former Chief Recovery Officer responsible for coordinating Vermont's use of federal stimulus money; contributing editor at VermontTiger.com
PROFILE
Tom Evslin
Guest
FROM Tom Evslin
Which Way, L.A.?
Economic Stimulus: The Promise and the Reality President Obama's stimulus package is officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act . It was advertised as a fast-track program for hiring the unemployed as well as creating new jobs. After it was enacted in 2009, California received $50 billion. Two years later, only half that amount has been spent. We hear from Laura Chick, California's former "stimulus watchdog" and others.
To the Point
What Has 800 Billion in Stimulus Spending Bought? During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt put four million people to work in four months. In two years, President Obama's $787 billion stimulus has failed to reduce unemployment as promised, and much of the money hasn't even been spent. When it was enacted in 2009, it was advertised as a fast-track program for hiring the unemployed as well as creating new jobs, and was to focus on projects called "shovel-ready?" So-called stimulus watchdogs in Vermont and California say there is no such thing. What about the money that has been spent? Has the Reinvestment and Recovery Act been a victim of false advertising as well as red tape?
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