The stimulus could go global, if Obama administration officials succeed in a pitch to foreign finance ministers at this weekend's G-20 meeting. The Wall Street Journalpoints out the hyper-local version of stimulus, too, with municipalities like Carrollton, Texas, drawing on budget surpluses to hire workers to paint fire hydrants and do other odd jobs.
Meanwhile, economists and congressmen are brewing doubts in Washington. Mark Zandi, the Moody's economist behind many of the job-creation projections (PDF) Congress tossed around while shaping the stimulus bill told legislators yesterday that the package would create only 2.5 million jobs, fewer than previously guesstimated. (Last month, we detailed how the administration's job numbers were based on guesswork.) Some Democrats on the Hill are getting antsy about whether their constituents will feel the benefits of recovery spending before the next election, only 19 months away. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested a possible solution to both problems: anotherstimulus!
Project of the day: As we reported earlier, a Montana liquor warehouse will be getting new skylights as part of a state-wide energy conservation program. (Don't laugh, it might save the state money in the long-term.)
