New agency should manage stimulus

The economic stimulus package will not perform as advertised, not because it isn't sufficiently capitalized nor the proper mix of spending and tax incentives. The reason it will fall woefully short of its intended outcome is because the money will be funneled through the states.

State government has failed to maintain public infrastructure (and tax users for the necessary maintenance), state government is politicized to an extent far beyond local and federal government, and state government will take exorbitant amounts off the top for "administrative" and "indirect" costs, leaving billions less for brick and mortar and new jobs.

I wrote President Obama and my state delegation asking that the stimulus be either direct grants (or better, loans) to local government, or channeled through a not-for-profit agency created for the task. Can you imagine the State of Illinois, the governor's office, heads of state agencies, and the General Assembly effectively and fairly and honestly handling this windfall? Oh wait, I think I just saw a pig fly by.

David Lee Schein

Mount Prospect