Carcieri says stimulus hasn't stimulated RI economy
1:11 PM Tue, May 12, 2009 | Permalink
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By Benjamin Gedan PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- So far, the gargantuan federal economic stimulus package has done little to revive Rhode Island's economy, Governor Carcieri said Tuesday. Three months after President Obama signed the historic $787-billion spending bill, designed to reverse a worsening national recession, only $28.6 billion has been distributed to states. For Rhode Island, just $176 million of a projected $1 billion in stimulus funds has been spent. "They make it sound like all this money is flowing," Carcieri told his top economic advisers at a meeting of the Economic Policy Council. "It's not." In large measure, the stimulus was designed to turn around the deep job losses caused by the financial crisis. But in Rhode Island, the 10.5 percent jobless rate, the highest level in three decades, has not improved since the stimulus passed. The stimulus spending has helped food stamp recipients, strengthened jobless benefits and paid for roadway improvements in Rhode Island. But overall, Carcieri said Tuesday, "this money is not having any significant impact right now." 
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