The Stimulus' Slow Start

The economy may be bottoming out, but the stimulus has hardly gotten started: According to The New York Times, only 6 percent, or $45.6 billion, of the $787 billion stimulus package has been spent so far, mostly in the form of Medicaid and unemployment benefits. Through the first week of May, the Department of Transportation had spent only $11 million on roadwork projects. “The intent of the stimulus program was to pump money into the economy quickly, and many members of Congress said at the time of its passage that speed was of the essence. But the huge program has been a challenge to administer for both a new administration and for states and local governments grappling with their own fiscal problems.” The Obama administration insists that the stimulus is right on schedule.