Greg Anrig on the four ways states could squander the stimulus: When President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law Feb. 17, he underscored how state governments would be largely responsible for implementing the legislation. Edward G. Rendell, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania and chair of the National Governors Association, said at the time: "All of us, whether we supported the bill wholeheartedly or whether we had questions about it, intend to be good stewards of the money we spend. All of us intend to do it in an effective and efficient way." While the stimulus bill has unquestionably eased some of America's economic pain just a few months after its enactment, already four main roadblocks have emerged that threaten the success of the legislation's state-focused aspects: state budget shortfalls; political dysfunction in many populous, economically important states; limited administrative capacity, exacerbated by budget cuts, at the state and local level; and state resistance to new programs that are only temporarily funded at the federal level. KEEPING READING ...
