The right way for America’s states to use federal largesse
America’s states have more green stuff than grey matter
NEARLY A YEAR has passed since Congress approved the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), promising spending of $1.9trn, equivalent to 9% of GDP. Many, including this newspaper, worried that such federal largesse looked excessive. Those fears have been borne out. ARPA helped create a surge of demand that contributed to the inflation that is plaguing America and which is higher than in other advanced economies. It also gave states and local-government agencies over $650bn—more than they knew what to do with.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Wasting a windfall”
From the February 26th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
Sir Keir Starmer should aim higher in his reset with the EU
And he needs to be clearer about what Britain wants
To make electricity cheaper and greener, connect the world’s grids
Less than 3% of the world’s power is internationally traded—a huge wasted opportunity
Chinese AI is catching up, posing a dilemma for Donald Trump
The success of cheap Chinese models threatens America’s technological lead
America has an imperial presidency
And in Donald Trump, an imperialist president for the first time in over a century
Tariffs will harm America, not induce a manufacturing rebirth
Donald Trump’s pursuit of tariffs will make the world poorer—and America, too
How to improve clinical trials
Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights