Most Think Stimulus Funds Were Wasted

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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January 25, 2010

Most Think Stimulus Funds Were Wasted

A new CNN/Opinion Research survey finds that 63% of the public thinks that projects in the economic stimulus plan passed last year "were included for purely political reasons and will have no economic benefit," with 36% saying those projects will benefit the economy.

Nearly three out of four Americans think the money has simply been wasted.

Of course, of the $787 billion in the package, $288 billion was for tax cuts to 95% of all Americans and $275 billion was for states to prevent cuts in public services. Most of the remaining money dedicated for specific "shovel-ready projects" hasn't even been spent yet because the projects were not "shovel-ready."

Joe Klein: "It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of dodos."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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January 25, 2010