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Native Dispels Myths About Economic "Stimulus"
A Roseville native who now works for the state of Rhode Island says she's doing her job managing the state's economic stimulus spending as best as it can, even though it could be argued that states don't know what they're doing yet.

Jamia McDonald is director of Economic Recovery and Reinvestment for Rhode Island, but while in Roseville to see family for the holiday, she spoke to a gathering at Carl Sandburg College put together by the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association.

McDonald says part of the problem with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is that parts are either incredibly specific, or just not specific enough.

"There was over 1,700 pages drafted and passed in less than a month," McDonald said. "There are clearly sections that were very detailed, where they get very detailed about a certain dam in New Mexico that gets funding, all the way to $30 billion for science. And that's all it says. So, from an implementation perspective, it runs the gamut of knowing exactly what we should be doing, to having no idea what we're supposed to be doing."

McDonald says she herself doesn't even agree with the $787 billion act, but she says as a government employee, she has an obligation to watch the spending very carefully.

McDonald says among other problems with the act, it's not as short-term as some may think in terms of spending, and only a third of it has officially been allocated.
12 28 09 by Newsroom
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