Understanding Government

The New York Times’ Michael Cooper takes a look at the Government Accountability Office report released yesterday on stimulus spending. Cooper highlights problems getting the home weatherization program off the ground — the Labor Dept. was late to establish how much workers get to install these systems.

But such implementation snafus are largely absent from the $150 billion that the federal government has now spent from the $787 billion stimulus package. Cooper points out that states have spent 84 percent of their stimulus cash to replenish dried up medicaid and education funds. When someone talks about the stimulus, infrastructure projects are often what comes to mind. But only four percent of the state money has gone toward highway construction.

The next phase of stimulus implementation will begin the true test of federal and local government. It’s easy to replenish a pre-existing medicaid fund, but it takes a certain level of competence to execute infrastructure projects.