Report: Obama 'stimulus' not reaching those who need it

I'm glad somebody is looking for accountability in Obama's massive "stimulus" spending package. And it's not the White House or Congressional Democrats. If you missed The Associated Press investigation into how Obama's promise of creating jobs is not panning out, here are highlights from "Jobs, but not where needed most" by reporters Matt Apuzzo and Brett J. Blackledge:

SAINT MARYS, Pa. (AP) — Wendy Cameron has heard President Barack Obama's promise that his $787 billion stimulus plan will create jobs, but the 50-year-old laid-off factory worker still can't get a paycheck in her north central Pennsylvania town.

With each passing week, millions of dollars worth of new transportation projects are announced across the country, all paid for with stimulus money. But so far, Elk County, with its 13.8 percent unemployment rate hasn't seen any news conferences, or ground breakings, or road money.

Instead, an Associated Press analysis of more than 5,500 planned transportation projects shows that the recovery plan shortchanges Elk County and others like it that need jobs the most. The AP review found that states are planning to spend 50 percent more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than it will in communities with the highest.

One result among many: While Elk County is passed over for road money despite its climbing unemployment rate, the military and college community of Riley County, Kan., with its 3.4 percent unemployment, will benefit from about $56 million to build a highway, improve an intersection and restore a historic farmhouse.

The AP reviewed $18.9 billion in projects, the most complete picture available of where states plan to spend the first wave of highway money. The projects account for about half of the money set aside for states and local governments to spend on roads, bridges and infrastructure in the stimulus plan.

To determine whether there was a disparity in where the money would go, the AP divided the nation's counties into four groups by unemployment levels. The analysis found that, no matter how the early money is measured, communities suffering most fare the worst.

Read the full story here.