Florida ranks last in money received per person from stimulus [To each according to his politics]

Palm Beach Post ^ | July 5th, 2009 | Michael C. Bender

[Brilliant]

Floridians so far have received less federal stimulus money than any of their fellow Americans, despite an unemployment rate here that ranks among the highest in the country and a budget crisis that few states can match...

Florida received just $505 per person, which ranks last among the 50 states, all U.S. territories combined and Washington, D.C., according to a Palm Beach Post analysis of the Journal’s data.

The numbers raise significant questions about the stimulus program, which President Obama said during a February stop in Fort Myers would help curtail the state’s rising unemployment rate.

Florida’s unemployment rate of 10.2 percent remains higher than 37 other states, according to numbers released in May.

Meanwhile, three of the four states with the fewest percentage of people out of work — North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming — also received some of the highest per-capita shares of stimulus money...

U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, called the numbers “puzzling.”

“It just plain does not make sense to short-change those who need assistance the most,” she said...

Florida ranks 45th in education-related stimulus money so far and 32nd for health care spending, the data show.

In total infrastructure dollars, including transportation, energy and other construction projects, Florida ranked dead last, with $152 per capita...

Florida taxpayers should be outraged they sent billions of their hard earned dollars to Washington,” Posey said, “only to see it redistributed to other parts of the country and unemployment climb.”

[Brilliant]

This is a couple of months old now. I post it only to demonstrate one thing, namely that the idea that government will distribute benefits based on "need" is an absurd one. If they can't distribute stimulus funding based on "need" then they certainly can't distribute health care based on "need." It's politics that dictates how the benefits of government are distributed, and that is one of the reasons Marxism doesn't work, among others. Here, it is the California and NY Congressional contingents that are deciding how the stimulus should be distributed. Why anyone from Florida would vote for that, I have no idea.

[nuvista]

True - numbers are outdated. Latest unemployment in Florida (September) is > 11%!!! Univ Florida economists summed it up: Florida was 1st in the recession/depression and will be the last state out!!!!
Not good news for wannabe Sen. Charlie Crist! His star is dropping so fast - Rubio on the ascendancy....fundraisers and pols around Crist getting indicted...the “hug” he gave Bambi now the most infamous picture in the state...’ol Chuck should have stayed in Tallahassee!!!

[Tarpon]

Aww man, I knew that Crist should have gone to the followup meetings with our so-called president.

[Joe Boucher]

I guess that little deal where Crist placed his lips on Obaoz’s ass didn’t do too much for us here in Florida now did it?

[freekitty]

That money will never reach the people. The stimulus is a big fat pay off

[SaraJohnson]

This is the thanks Crist gets after doing all that Obama booty smooching for the cameras?