Short end of the stick: Florida ranks last in money received per person from the stimulus package
Sunday, July 5th, 2009 by Michael C. BenderFloridians so far have received less federal stimulus money than any of their fellow Americans, despite an unemployment rate here that ranks among the highest in the country and a budget crisis that few states can match.
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Florida has received more total dollars than all but three other states from a stimulus pot of about $198 billion so far for infrastructure projects and social services, according to figures reported this week by The Wall Street Journal.1 That total includes money Congress left for states to divide among themselves and other dollars that federal departments have already disbursed.
But Florida received just $505 per person, which ranks last among the 50 states, all U.S. territories combined and Washington, D.C., according to a Palm Beach Post analysis of the Journal’s data.
The numbers raise significant questions about the stimulus program, which President Obama said during a February stop in Fort Myers would help curtail the state’s rising unemployment rate.2
- Wall Street Journal, 06/30/09: Stimulus Spending, Breakdown by State
- Remarks of President Obama, 02/10/09, Fort Myers.
Where's the money? Use The Post's interactive database of who wants and who's getting federal dollars.
Use these interactive graphics to find and contact Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast legislators.
Sentenced to die for crimes judged heinous and cruel, inmates await execution in a 9 feet by 6 feet cell.
