Don Carcieri doesn't think the stimulus is as effective as some would lead us to believe.  The bill includes $787 billion in spending, but only $28.6 million has reached the states.  Rhode Island has received $176 million out of an expected $1 billion in funds.  For those of you who don't have strong math skills, that's just 17.6% for Rhode Island.  I'm not going to pretend to know what an appropriate amount would be.  Obviously, you wouldn't want or expect it all at once, but I would have expected to receive more funds by this point.  I'm not a fan of the stimulus bill, but when distributing stimulus money, isn't sooner better than later?

     My concern is that stimulus money will be used to plug holes in the budget.  Ideally, the funds should be set aside for additional spending that will end when the funds end.  In the meantime, the budget should be balanced with cuts, not one-time infusions like the stimulus.  Instead of addressing the root of the budget problem, it's just putting it off for another day.  It's like the tobacco settlement money all over again.