$825 Billion Economic Stimulus

California's cut of the proposed $825 Billion Economic Stimulus nears eight billion dollars, $7,854,800,000 to be exact. That breaks down to $213.70 per capita. While no state will receive more money overall, if the current package passes, than California, Alaska ($221.71), Mississippi ($214.23), Louisiana ($214.23) and North Dakota ($216.56) will receive more money per capita.

The current stimulus plan requires that $121.26 per capita, of the federal funds must be spent on transportation and infrastructure projects, with $66.11 allotted for school and college modernization, and $13.82, per capita, reserved for job training, according to The Wall Street Journal's recent report.

If California receives $7,854,800,000 from the stimulus plan and $213.70 of that money is allocated per state resident, that means it has a population of approximately 36,756,200, which is fairly close to the estimate for the state's 2008 population. But after adding up the $121.26 for infrastructure spending, the $66.11 for education modernization and the $13.82 for job training the state finds itself with only $12.51 left to spend.

Clearly spending on infrastructure will generate jobs and stimulate the economy in the short run, but in the long run education and job training are the better investment. Why build more roads, when far less people will be traveling to work?