Waiting for the Stimulus

I have never seen the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, but I imagine that Beckett would greatly appreciate the experience many of us in the commercial interiors industry are going through as we wait for the Federal Stimulus money to hit.

If you google Federal Stimulus you will find 28,100,000 entries, which is a bit overwhelming for those of us simply looking to get a small bite of the apple. Since I've had a little more time on my hands lately, I'll share some of what I've found while "waiting" for the Stimulus.

1) As of today (6/5/2009), the money is just beginning to flow to the local level. I have verified this ancecdotally with some of my local and state clients who expect funding within the next 15 to 30 days.

2) Look at: Recovery.gov which gives the macro view of where the money is going.

3) Look at: Recovery.ca.gov for what California is doing (within this site is very cool map that details by county or congressional district where money is allocated).

4) Local county and city websites all detail specifically what they are "waiting" on in relation to stimulus dollars.

I personally believe that at least some of the new "goals" for government transperency are being met. It took a little effort, but the information on where the federal dollars are heading is available.

In the meantime we wait...and wait... and wait...