It's All About Timing in Federal Spending

When the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on November 25 that it would pump $110 million taxpayer dollars into a Georgia state highway project intended to reduce traffic congestion in Metropolitan Atlanta, the rosy side of our brains may have thought, "Good! Public works projects like that help create just the kind of jobs the suffering economy needs." But after realizing that the DOT's benevolence came just a few days before the December 2 runoff election between incumbent Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, the gloomy side of our brains may have thought, well... less happy things.

For the record, the Atlanta area traffic reduction project will extend High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on I-85, and create a high-speed commuter bus service into downtown Atlanta. "The money we are providing today will make commuting faster, transit better and small businesses more competitive," said DOT Secretary Mary Peters in a press release. There they go catering to our rosy brains again.