Stimulus Plan: What Up?

This morning I watched Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist on Meet The Press – two Republican governors toting different positions on the federal stimulus package. Jindal towed the party line, refusing support pending major concessions over the very nature of the plan. He hinged Republican support on whether or not spending was temporary, a position 180 degrees at odds with the views governing many Dems. (See Robert Reich)

Republicans don’t win much by voting nay along party lines. So there must be something pretty unreasonable with the plan, right?

Check ProPublica’s chart detailing spending (a bit more manageable than the full 1,071 page document). Spending categories include:

$98,325,000,000 — Transportation and Infrastructure
$58,355,000,000 — Aid to State and Local Governments
$48,420,000,000 — Education
$41,400,000,000 — Energy
$36,910,807,000 — Aid to People Affected by Economic Downturn
$18,830,000,000 — Health Care
$13,142,000,000 — Science and Technology
$2,147,000,000 — Other
$870,000,000 — Business
$323,500,000 — Accountability

All categories are broken down into (slightly) more detailed spending, and ProPublica also has a chart of all proposed tax cuts if you’re so inclined. Most big ticket items seem reasonable to me, but there are plenty of ways to screw the pooch between planning and execution. I’d probably keep an eye on ShovelWatch, to follow whether stimulus dollars are put to good use, if I was you.