America should have seen this coming. The fighting between legislatures over the multi-billion dollar stimulus package. Any time you have enormous sums of money that will be divided among states, an all out blood bath is bound to come out of it. This is Monica Davey's main point in her article, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," from the New York Times on February 16th. Im sure that every local Government has written in, or gone to the State officials about what parts of the alotted money they will see, or not see for that matter.
Just like a kid who just got his allowance...its burning holes in their pockets. What do we do with it? Where do we spend it first? How can we spend it carefully, and wisely? Who do we allow to pick at it for help? All of these questions and many, many more are running through state officials heads. Some states have had that money earmarked for months, hoping and praying that they would recieve some help from Washington. On the other hand, some states are trying to blow off the Governments handouts.
Whether they want it, or not, fact of the matter is, that each state could sure use the money for infrastructure, which, in turn, could set jobs for those who have lost theirs. It could go to education, which we all know, without it, youre going no where. Healthcare, which if you havent noticed by now, doesnt come cheap like McDonalds dollar menu. A state cannot say that they "Don't Need" the money, because thats just plain stupid. Of course you need it, everyone could use a little here and there. Its just where you spend it that will make or break your economy.
Spend wisely, carefully, and make sure you think of the future when you do. That should be every States, main focus.
