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Chris Dorobek of Washington, D.C.’s Federal News Radio 1500 AM interviews Jerry Brito about Stimulus Watch.
[Played 60 times.]
Stimulus Watch has been getting some great attention from the media and blogosphere, and we note some of it below. Thank you all for visiting, participating, and spreading the word. If you’d like to help a bit more, please follow this link and click and Digg our site. Thanks!
Crowdsourcing the Stimulus
The New York Times Economix Blog
Stimulus stimulates crowdsourced oversight, activism
Ars Technica
Post on Stimulus Watch
Sunlight Foundation Blog
Daily Digest: What Progressives Want (and What They Should)
PDF TechPresident
New Site Tests Crowd-Sourced Transparency
Freedom to Tinker
Stimulus Watch: Where the Money Goes
Buffalo Rising
Via Talking Points Memo: Speaking about the stimulus this morning, President Obama promised to create a “an independent board … that actually looks at these programs, and the money, before it goes out the door.” That’s great news, and it makes the discussion and rating of projects that you’re doing here at Stimulus Watch that much more important. We hope an independent review board will look to what citizens are saying on sites like this.
StimulusWatch.org is officially open for business today, and we need your help spreading the word about it. Please tell your friends and family about it by emailing them, blogging about it, and posting it to your Facebook profile.
Stimulus Watch looks at the “shovel-ready” projects listed in the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ “MainStreet Economic Recovery Report.” The mayors and local officials around the country have asked that these projects be funded with federal money. However, once the stimulus bill passes, not every project will be funded. The agencies that administer the federal grant-making programs, which Congress will fund through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will have to decide which of these projects to fund.
While these funding decisions are largely made by formula, the Obama administration has promised to be smart about which projects it funds with stimulus money. In his address on economic recovery on January 8, President Obama said:
We have to make tough choices and smart investments today so that as the economy recovers, the deficit starts to come down. We cannot have a solid recovery if our people and our businesses don’t have confidence that we’re getting our fiscal house in order. That’s why our goal is not to create a slew of new government programs, but a foundation for long-term economic growth.
That also means an economic recovery plan that is free from earmarks and pet projects. I understand that every member of Congress has ideas on how to spend money. Many of these projects are worthy, and benefit local communities. But this emergency legislation must not be the vehicle for those aspirations. This must be a time when leaders in both parties put the urgent needs of our nation above our own narrow interests.
Stimulus Watch exist to help the President keep his pledge. Citizens around the country can judge for themselves the merits of the mayors’ proposed projects. Using this site they can voice their opinions and local knowledge of the projects letting everyone know which are worth an investment and which are not. Local government officials are also invited to join the conversation to give context for their requests.
We hope you enjoy the site, and we hope you will help us spread the word.
While this site will officially launch on Monday, we’re asking you to help us test the site and seed it with content a little earlier. Starting Friday morning, please visit StimulusWatch.org and edit the project wikis, post comments, and vote on the projects. Please also feel free to spread the word about Stimulus Watch. Thanks!
