As a political issue, President Barack Obama’s stimulus package is fraught with contradictions.
Many people have likely taken the confounding position of being opposed to the stimulus package then wondering why their community didn’t receive more federal money.
The stimulus package doesn’t appear to be motivated by a system of political rewards or revenge. Georgia’s electoral votes did not go to Obama, but the Georgia ranks in the Top 10 states in the number of jobs created by the stimulus package.
Sanford Bishop is a Democrat, whose Georgia district received $295 million, while Jack Kingston is a Republican whose Georgia district received $331 million.
The stimulus money seems to be going where the people are.
The more people, the more money.
Still, in some cases, where stimulus dollars have been used to directly create payrolls for new municipal jobs, one must wonder what happens to these positions once the stimulus funding’s gone? If a city can’t afford to pay these positions on its own, will these people lose their jobs when a city runs out of the stimulus money?
With so many opinions and contradictions regarding the stimulus package, The Valdosta Daily Times opted to tell this story mostly by the numbers. With the exception of a recent AP quote from the President, The Times did not seek opinions and comments on the stimulus package for today’s front page article.
Instead, we believe the numbers tell the story and readers can draw their own conclusions.
We hope our reports this week and next week will cut through the political talking points and reveal just how much South Georgia can expect from the stimulus package.
It is our goal to stimulate independent thought rather than regurgitating the same old party lines regarding the stimulus package.
