When Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009, its goals were to create and save jobs, spur economic activity and invest in long-term economic growth, all while promoting accountability and transparency in government spending.
However, research indicates that much of the $80.7 million allocated for McPherson County, rather than promoting job creation, is going to plug holes in funding left by a weakened state economy, and, in some cases, not even fully. Additionally, the numbers given on the recovery.gov Web site do not go into detail on whether the money distributed was directly from the stimulus package, or are funds that were simply renamed as to give the appearance of new or increased funding. In one case, a business in the county was listed as receiving more than $20,000, but upon further investigation, no details on the project could be found.
For more on the stimulus projects in McPherson County see Tuesday's McPherson Sentinel.
