Good Jobs First just released its report evaluating state Recovery Act websites. Here is the press release:
Washington, DC, July 29, 2009--While some states have created impressive websites to disseminate information about their share of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), most are failing to make effective use of online technology to educate taxpayers about the impact of economic stimulus spending. This is the finding of Show Us the Stimulus, a report released today by Good Jobs First, a non-profit research center based in Washington, DC.More...
Economic Recovery contracts will now go on line in Massachusetts. This is a significant raising of the bar for transparency. Up until now the spending but not the contracts had not been posted, particularly not if spent by sub-entities like municipalities, counties, and other authorities.More...
The Rockefeller Institute's quarterly analysis of state revenues finds that the first quarter of 2009 showed the sharpest decline in at least 46 years - "the worst on record for the states."
Overall, compares to the same period of 2008, state revenues fell 11.7 percent including personal income tax decline of 17.5 percent, sales tax down 8.5 percent and corporate income tax down 18.8 percent.More...
The New York Times this morning added to the growing literature on how states are choosing to spend transportation stimulus dollars with the article by Michael Cooper and Griff Palmer entitled "Cities Lose Out on Road Funds from Federal Stimulus."More...
Within the $787 billion stimulus bill that became law in February, Congress provided states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) with $26.6 billion in flexible funds for transportation projects. Today marks 120 days from the apportionment of the funds to the states.More...
In a perversion of President Obama’s intentions, there are troubling signs that the “economic war among the states” is threatening to fritter away the stimulus act.More...
