What Happened to the Stimulus?

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Construction workers on the site of an infrastructure project at the junction of Interstates 490 and 77 in Cleveland, Tuesday 30 June 2009. The project is being funded by government stimulus money as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Greg Ruffing / Redux for TIME

When Congress passed the stimulus bill in February, it came as both good news and bad news to the Obama White House. The good: never before had an Administration had so much money to spend on voters in need — to rebuild public buildings, save jobs, weatherize homes and fund community health centers. The bad: rarely has the passage of a measure been accompanied by such skepticism about the government’s ability to spend the money wisely or well.

And ever since, public doubts about the stimulus have, if anything, deepened. The economy deteriorated faster than economists expected, with unemployment now predicted to exceed 10% next year, higher than the White House had projected in January. While that might under normal circumstances make any stimulus more popular, voters have been spooked by the enormous deficits Washington is running up as it tries to right the economy. In 2009 alone, the U.S. government will take on debt equal to about 13% of its economic output, and by 2016 the U.S. debt is projected to top 70% of GDP, twice the 2000 level. Poll after poll has shown a steady erosion of confidence in the stimulus measure; one survey found that 45% of voters believe it should be abandoned midstream.

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