USA Today Excerpt:If there’s any truth to that statement, it would explain why Janesville along with much of the 1st Congressional District of Wisconsin may not experience the stimulus bubble we might expect even though the district voted for Obama.
That aid — about $17 billion — is the first piece of the administration's massive stimulus package that can be tracked locally. Much of it has followed a well-worn path to places that regularly collect a bigger share of federal grants and contracts, guided by formulas that have been in place for decades and leave little room for manipulation.
USA Today Excerpt:Here is the problem...
The imbalance didn't start with the stimulus. From 2005 through 2007, the counties that later voted for Obama collected about 50% more government aid than those that supported McCain, according to spending reports from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Rock Netroots Excerpt:Ryan cut grants to the district by nearly 40% compared to previous years (2001 - 2004) and adjusted for inflation, the percentage in real value lost by Ryan's failed economic policies could be closer to 60%.
Beginning in 2005 and running into 2007 (2008 figures not available yet) Ryan has shorted his district by nearly $1 billion a year for a total of over $3 billion!! This figure was arrived as a weighted average of all congressional districts in Wisconsin and clearly shows a precipitous drop differential of federal funds appropriated by Ryan after 2004. The result? Ryan’s district is now in shambles. It boasts two of the top three areas in the state for unemployment and things are only beginning to get worse.
If they indeed use formulas, historical grant and contract trends and not politics to help guide the distribution of stimulus funds, breaking even now won't make up for the lost years under Ryan.
Companion piece to this posting.
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