Federal Stimulus
Crunching June Stimulus Numbers: Roads Create Pricier Jobs Than Transit
Transportation spending under the economic stimulus law created close to 15,000 jobs in June, or three times as many as were created in May, according to estimates released today by the U.S. DOT.
August 19, 2009
The Times’ Thickheaded Train Tag Team
The New York Times has now turned loose writers at two of its economics blogs to make weak arguments against the construction of high-speed rail lines.
August 14, 2009
How to Judge “Cash for Clunkers”
At this point, it's difficult to know exactly what the government's "cash for clunkers" program is supposed to accomplish.
August 4, 2009
Road Stimulus Money: Half Spent on Repaving, 17% on Widening
The $787 billion economic stimulus law provided $27 billion for roads and bridges. But is the money going to shore up aging infrastructure or to add new highway lanes?
July 31, 2009
Republicans Deem Transpo Stimulus — 6% of Total Spending — a ‘Failure’
Republicans on the House transportation panel held a press conference today to deem the economic stimulus law a failure, citing low infrastructure spending in the nation's highest-unemployment states.
July 10, 2009
In Search of Stimulus on Capitol Hill
While many cautious economists are at pains to point out that the bulk of the funds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- that is, the stimulus -- have not yet been spent, others are arguing that the economy is significantly weaker than was expected when the bill was passed and a larger fiscal boost should be considered.
July 10, 2009
Top 20 Metro Areas Get 28% of Road Stimulus, 61% of Transit Stimulus
Cities are getting a disproportionately small share of the road money given out by the White House's stimulus plan, but the nation's top 20 metro areas are doing better when it comes to transit -- taking in 61 percent of the transit stimulus cash allocated so far, according to an analysis by Streetsblog Capitol Hill.
July 9, 2009
Stimulus Lesson: When Time is of the Essence, Invest in Transit
To be effective, fiscal stimulus must be timely.
June 30, 2009
Report: States Used $6.6B in Stimulus Cash on New Roads, Not Repair
Today is the deadline for state DOTs to allocate at least half of the transportation money they received under the economic stimulus law, and Smart Growth America marked the occasion with a study of what types of projects are getting that cash.
June 29, 2009
Report: Nation’s Cities Not Getting Their Share of Stimulus Transpo Money
The nation's largest metropolitan areas -- which account for 63 percent of the U.S. population and 73 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) -- have received less than half of the surface transportation money allocated so far underthe Obama administration's economic stimulus plan, according to a new report compiled for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
June 15, 2009