Lack of Stimulus Oversight
The hasty passing of the $787 billion stimulus recovery bill is now bringing to light the lack of oversight as these fund are being distributed to state governments. A new report highlighting lack of proper oversight for these funds shows three states which have not appropriated granted funds for construction because they do not have enough staff to implement such projects. While the money was promised to create jobs, many agencies are stating that no jobs are created with this money since much of the money is going to fund education and Medicare, not job creation.
“Due to fiscal constraints, many states reported significant declines in the number of oversight staff, limiting their ability to ensure proper implementation and management of Recovery Act funds,” the Government Accountability Office report said.
If these stimulus funds are not creating jobs, then they are just making the states more dependent on the federal government and in the long run, making them unsustainable. Many fear that these funds are just holding down different businesses and will force them to go back for more funds in the future. While the federal government insists that these funds are under strict accountability mechanisms, the fact that some states and state agencies are refusing funds should be taken into serious consideration.
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