I found your article, “Only the Young Despair“, very much on point although I have some disagreement on your point 13.
Admittedly the Recovery Act had many things that could have been done better but about 1/3 was spent on keeping public employees on the job, which helped prevent the unemployment situation from getting worse, helped to maintain short term public services (teachers, police and firemen) and helped support the consumer driven economy; approximately another third involved tax cuts for the lower and middle classes, which gave the lower and middle classes help in meeting financial obligations and maintaining consumer spending; and the remainder for infrastructure maintenance, laying rail for future growth projects, stimulating purchases and some for pet political projects.
Could it or should it have done more? Perhaps, but the Republicans would not let it happen and are now criticizing the Recovery Act for spending too much of the public’s money
