We wrote recently about how some states are lagging in getting federal stimulus dollars funneled into on-the-ground projects, meaning that President Obama's predictions about the stimulus' job-creation haven't materialized as quickly as he'd hoped.
Obama summed it up succinctly in the profile of him in Sunday's New York Times Magazine: "[T]here’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects."
He's right: Public works aren't the most effective short-term stimulus to the economy.
Economist Bruce Bartlett, blogging at Capital Gains and Games, makes really interesting point about why Obama's statement shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. But, Bartlett says, that doesn't mean public works aren't vital in the economic long-term:
[I]t is surprising that the lack of shovel-ready projects or the slow pace of public works spending is a revelation to anyone. Obama’s statement is simply an admission of the obvious. [...] Their main value is that public goods stimulate long-term growth and the best time to produce them is when the private sector has a lot of idle resources and they can be financed at low interest rates. These are still very good reasons to undertake public works now before the economy recovers, interest rates rise and the private sector competes for the resources necessary for large public works projects.
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
From regulations to spending, the federal government can be a huge thorn in the sides of state and local governments. Written by Ryan Holeywell, GOVERNING FedWatch monitors all the money spent and all the mandates required by the federal government that effect states and localities.
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