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SO IS THIS BAD NEWS, OR GOOD NEWS? Pace Of Stimulus Spending Plummets: Stimulus bill spending ha?

By Glenn Reynolds

SO IS THIS BAD NEWS, OR GOOD NEWS? Pace Of Stimulus Spending Plummets:

Stimulus bill spending has slowed to a trickle, despite President Obama’s June order to his Cabinet to speed it up.

The average stimulus spending per week has dropped severely, to just $4.2 billion over the past month from $9.7 billion during the prior four months. The government spent $2.9 billion in the week ending Aug. 7.

Taxpayer groups say the numbers show spending decisions are random and prove that the $787 billion stimulus program has had no effect on the economy.

“This is a typical bureaucracy. They don’t operate in an efficient way. They can’t operate in an efficient way and make an impact,” said Leslie Paige, media director for Citizens Against Government Waste.

The spending has slowed despite Mr. Obama’s declaration in June that he was “not satisfied” with its pace, and his demand that his Cabinet secretaries accelerate the distribution of stimulus funds.

Tentatively, I’m going with “good news.” It certainly undercuts calls for a second stimulus package, when they can’t even manage to spend the first one properly.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on August 15, 2009 (boomark / email).