http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/10/stimulus_funds_to_pay_for_newe.html
Now I understand the need for this, but this isn't what the stimulus funds are for. this doesn't do anything but save Birmingham, the city....government....money. It's abuse. This isn't going to help the economy one damn bit.
Maybe you missed the memo... this is how stimulus works. Government investment in infrastructure. This is Keynes. This is what we did in the Great Depression. This is exactly where stimulus funds have been going, and will continue to go.
Keynes argued that the solution to the Great Depression was to stimulate the economy ("inducement to invest") through some combination of two approaches: a reduction in interest rates and government investment in infrastructure. Investment by government injects income, which results in more spending in the general economy, which in turn stimulates more production and investment involving still more income and spending and so forth. The initial stimulation starts a cascade of events, whose total increase in economic activity is a multiple of the original investment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_economics
Explain to me how spending 2 million bucks on a firestation in Birmingham Al stimulates the economy. It doesn't. They hire someone to build the thing, when it's finished, we're back to square one. The fire station still does the same thing it did from the beginning, there is no job creation, doesn't do shit for the economy.
This is simply an example of a city taking advantage of the governments offering. A complete waste of money. Same thing as a person faking some disability and getting a check each month. Its bullshit. The only difference is it's government taking advantage of government....in the publics face, front and center.
They hire people to build something. Those people get paid money. Since those are all lower to middle class people, they spend everything they earn, that money goes back into the economy, and stimulates other spending. It's Econ 1, and it's the whole reason that the stimulus exists.
The reason we spend it on infrastructure is simple... better infrastructure stimulates the economy. With a bigger, more modern firehouse, the firehouse can serve more people. Bigger trucks and equipment purchases can be made. More firepeople can be hired. A more agile and better equipped fire department means better coverage for the fire area. And--the quality of public services in an area has a direct effect on property value. Property values go up. Businesses are able to attract more clientele, or start up easier. People want to live there. It's simple economics.
I'd agree with you if what happened was Birmingham replaced a leaky roof, or rebuilt a driveway. But the article clearly shows that the new firehouse has bigger thruways, can fit more modern equipment, is larger, and changes the dynamic of the force--for example, they no longer have to park their trucks in a different location. These are all the kinds of infrastructure improvements that will make a difference in the local economy. It's not adding a freeway to a new location, but it is significant.
So all those people around the old football field who collect most of their money from the government anyway will now get new fire stations and shit to boot, plus healthcare. Killer dude.
Government jobs. What a blessing.
No one else hiring...many waiting for pubby buds...many not gunna anyway.