July 9, 2009

     Vice-President Joe Biden says New York’s road to economic recovery is paved with almost 300 new transportation projects.  But some say the stimulus dollars aren't coming fast enough.
     Now there's talk about another stimulus package.  It's become a hot debate that could have big implications on the Twin Tiers economy. 
     “I thought the first one wasn't big enough when it first passed,” said Cornell University economics professor Steve Kyle.
     Kyle says, yes, we need a second stimulus package.  He says conditions are worse now than the federal government expected when it passed the first stimulus.
     “We should do a stimulus that's big enough to do the job, rather than piecemealing it, which would flitter away a lot of the beneficial effects,” said Kyle.
     But we haven't seen many results from the first stimulus yet -- only about ten percent of the $1 trillion has been released.
     Here in the Southern Tier, you can see some "shovel-ready" road projects and extensions of unemployment benefits, but that's about it.
     “By the time it hits the fan, the economy may have corrected itself, and then the stimulus comes at the wrong time to cause inflation,” said Ithaca College economics professor Elia Kacapyr.
     Unlike Kyle, Kacapyr thinks it's too early to tell if we need another stimulus.  But he says more of the money needs to come quicker.
     Gov. David Paterson has announced the appointment of a stimulus oversight panel to help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of the funds.