Most businesses shouldn't expect stimulus, state officials say
Even $787 billion goes only so far. That was the somewhat downbeat message delivered yesterday to a group of tristate business leaders by the stimulus czars of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Even $787 billion goes only so far.
That was the somewhat downbeat message delivered yesterday to a group of tristate business leaders by the stimulus czars of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Speaking to several dozen members of the Penjerdel Council at the National Constitution Center, Lt. Gov. Matthew Denn of Delaware said that many people incorrectly hold a mental picture of the government handing out "giant, Ed McMahon-sized checks" at every opportunity.
In fact, he said, much of the nationwide funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - including the $800 million headed to Delaware, the nation's sixth-least-populous state - will fit into predetermined categories, such as highways, Medicaid, and special education.
Among the biggest "winners," he said, are state governments - which will get budget relief - and many companies that are involved in highway construction and energy projects.
Categories in which states will compete against one another for stimulus funding include light-rail projects, health-information technology, and broadband Internet service for rural areas, Denn said.
James P. Creedon, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, said that his office regularly receives requests for funds that won't fit into any stimulus category.
Even the $9.4 billion that Pennsylvania will receive isn't enough to finance everything people are asking for, he said.
Edward J. McBride Jr., chief of staff to Gov. Corzine in New Jersey, which expects to get $10 billion, said in an interview, it doesn't include "the sun and the moon and the stars."
