Billions in "Stimulus" Funds Unspent on Stalled Programs

Which may not be a bad thing

ST. LOUIS – Four years after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act began providing economic stimulus funds to local government agencies across the country, billions sit unused and billions more will never be spent because the money is tied to expired projects.

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which tracks the money, reports that $48 million is committed to 82 Missouri projects that haven't even started, while more than $900 million is tied up in another 1,000 or so stimulus efforts that are not yet complete.

If the numbers can be believed.

A Missouri Watchdog investigation found that in many cases reporting mistakes may be inflating those figures.