The federal government widely promoted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA), more commonly called the “stimulus package,” as a means to help states balance theirbudgets for the 2010 fiscal year amid decreasing tax revenues. The ARRA allocated $140 billion to help states' budgets...

There is renewed interest in a significant economic stimulus package to build and improve public works infrastructure. The experience of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) suggests that marrying the goals of infrastructure provision and putting unemployed individuals back to...