If you’d like to know where your stimulus tax dollars are going, check out this report from Pro Publica.
It makes sense that the states with highest unemployment would receive the most stimulus dollars per capita, right?
Not so fast. California, Nevada, and Michigan have among the highest unemployment rates. California and Nevada received well less than average dollars, and Michigan received only slightly more than average.
But at least the states with least unemployment should receive the least dollars, right?
Not so fast. Check out Alaska. With an unemployment rate well below the national average, it received nearly 3 times as many dollars per capital as the national average. North Dakota received more than 1.5 times the dollars despite its microscopic unemployment rate of 4.2%.
And here’s the most interesting of all. Which state received the most stimulus dollars per capita? Here’s a hint: it’s not a state.
The District of Columbia received more than 6 times the national average. And it wasn’t even a close race (as if it is supposed to be a race). D.C. received 2.5 times as many as its closest “competitor,” Alaska.
D.C. received more than 7.5 times as many dollars as Nevada despite Nevada’a monumental rate of unemployment.
Hmmm, could it be that the people who are making the decisions about where your stimulus dollars go live and work in the District of Columbia?