Early road aid leaves out neediest, study finds

updated 9:18 a.m. ET May 12, 2009

NEW YORK - Counties suffering the most from job losses stand to receive the least help from President Barack Obama’s plan to spend billions of stimulus dollars on roads and bridges, an Associated Press analysis has found.

Although the intent of the money is to put people back to work, AP’s review of more than 5,500 planned transportation projects nationwide reveals that states are planning to spend the stimulus in communities where jobless rates are already lower.

One result among many: Elk County, Pa., isn’t receiving any road money despite its 13.8 percent unemployment rate. Yet the military and college community of Riley County, Kan., with its 3.4 percent unemployment, will benefit from about $56 million to build a highway, improve an intersection and restore a historic farmhouse.

Altogether, the government is set to spend 50 percent more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than it will in communities with the highest.

The AP reviewed $18.9 billion in projects, the most complete picture available of where states plan to spend the first wave of highway money. The projects account for about half of the $38 billion set aside for states and local governments to spend on roads, bridges and infrastructure in the stimulus plan.

The very promise that Obama made, to spend money quickly and create jobs, is locking out many struggling communities needing those jobs.

The money goes to projects ready to start. But many struggling communities don’t have projects waiting on a shelf. They couldn’t afford the millions of dollars for preparation and plans that often is required.

“It’s not fair,” said Martin Schuller, the borough manager in the Elk County seat of Ridgway, who commiserates about the inequity in highway aid with colleagues in nearby towns. “It’s a joke because we’re not going to get it, because we don’t have any projects ready to go.”

The early trend seen in the AP analysis runs counter to expectations raised by Obama, that road and infrastructure money from the historic $787 billion stimulus plan would create jobs in areas most devastated by layoffs and plant closings. Transportation money, he said, would mean paychecks for “folks looking for work” and “folks who want to work.”

Video   Obama: 'A chance to transform our economy' Feb. 12: Speaking at the Caterpillar factory in Peoria, Ill, President Obama says that his stimulus plan will bring jobs back to Caterpillar, and the U.S., by investing in our country. MSNBC

“That’s the core of my plan, putting people to work doing the work that America needs done,” Obama said in a Feb. 11 speech promoting transportation spending as a way to expand employment.

Also, Congress required states to use some of the highway money for projects in economically distressed areas, but didn’t impose sanctions if they didn’t. States can lose money, however, if they don’t spend fast enough.

The AP examined the earliest projects announced nationwide, the ones most likely to break ground and create jobs first. More projects are continually being announced, and some areas that received little or no help so far may benefit later. The Obama administration could also encourage states to change their plans.

To determine whether there was a disparity in where the money would go, the AP divided the nation’s counties into four groups by unemployment levels. The analysis found that, no matter how the early money is measured, communities suffering most fare the worst:

• High-unemployment counties, those in the top quarter of jobless rates, are allotted about 16 percent of the money, compared with about 20 percent for areas least affected by joblessness.
• In low-unemployment counties nationwide, those in the bottom quarter of jobless rates, the federal government is spending about $89 a person compared with $59 a person in the worst-hit areas.
• In counties with the largest populations, the government is spending about $69 a person in areas with the lowest unemployment and $40 a person in places with the greatest job need.

The analysis also found that counties with the highest unemployment are most likely to have been passed over completely in the early spending.

Among them: Wheeler County, Ore.; Steuben County, Ind.; Macon County, Ga.; and Crowley County, Colo.

Many others are getting minimal help in this round: Vermillion County, Ind.; Lapeer County, Mich.; Presidio County, Texas; Tallahatchi County, Miss.

Video   Putting the stimulus money to use March 3 : Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood, "Meet the Press" host David Gregory, and the rest of the Morning Joe crew talk about the implementation of the stimulus money. Morning Joe

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood defended the plan. Even if needy areas don't see transportation projects, workers can compete for jobs elsewhere, even if they are in more prosperous areas, he said. In many counties, particularly rural ones, that means a drive of two hours.

"People from all over the region are going to be working in those jobs," LaHood said Monday. "When it's all said and done, you're going to see an enormous number of people working on these projects this summer."

Joel Szabat, who also oversees the stimulus for the Transportation Department, said the agency presses states to build projects in struggling areas but does not normally consider how much money is going to each county.

Presented with AP’s findings, he said: “I will be going back to ask our folks to do this kind of analysis, the overall amount for the projects.”

“Our goal, and I think it is a goal that will be achieved, is that you will see that a fair share of this money will go to these areas,” Szabat said.

Obama’s plan sends $38 billion to states and local governments for roads, bridges, transit and other infrastructure, about 5 percent of the overall program that also includes money for, among other things, schools, community development, technology, worker training and tax breaks.

All counties will receive some stimulus relief eventually. But the haste voiced by the White House is not reflected in the flow of highway money so far.

“We cannot wait,” Vice President Joe Biden said last week when announcing a $30 million transit project in his hometown of Wilmington, Del., where the 7.7 percent unemployment rate remains below the national average. “We’re spending a lot of time and money. Why? It’s about ... jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. That’s why we cannot wait.”

Yet residents of Perry County, Tenn., will have to wait. County Mayor John Carroll said he’s disappointed his community, which suffers from 25.4 percent unemployment, won’t receive a dime any time soon for its road needs.

“It’s pretty easy to draw a connection between the high unemployment rate and the lack of any four-lane highways,” he said.

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