The Failed Recovery, New Mexico and Beyond

I recently completed an analysis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that's posted on the Los Alamos Study Group's web site.

The focus is on New Mexico, but the findings are of national importance. Before we get to the nitty gritty of New Mexico's ARRA spending take a look at the following, drawn from Recovery.org. Of the ten largest ARRA contracts in the U.S., 9 are for cleaning up nuclear weapons waste:

Largest Awards in U.S.

Contracts

Grants

Loans

Contracts

Recipient	State	Amount Awarded
1. CH2M HILL PLATEAU REMEDIATION COMPANY	WA	$663,047,229
2. SAVANNAH RIVER NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS, LLC	SC	$534,942,264
3. SAVANNAH RIVER NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS, LLC	SC	$454,353,256
4. WASHINGTON RIVER PROTECTION SOLUTIONS LLC	WA	$322,255,000
5. GTP INCORPORATION	MD	$309,587,600
6. SAVANNAH RIVER NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS, LLC	SC	$287,060,682
7. CH2M HILL PLATEAU REMEDIATION COMPANY	WA	$228,520,000
8. CH2M WG IDAHO LLC	ID	$217,875,000
9. CH2M HILL PLATEAU REMEDIATION COMPANY	WA	$202,503,000
10. SAVANNAH RIVER REMEDIATION LLC	SC	$198,650,436

Grants

Recipient	State	Amount Awarded
1. PLANNING AND RESEARCH, GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF	CA	$4,387,948,882
2. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA	FL	$2,208,839,244
3. GOVERNOR, TEXAS OFFICE OF THE	TX	$2,177,682,329
4. ILLINOIS, STATE OF	IL	$1,681,130,685
5. NEW YORK, STATE OF	NY	$1,653,933,720
6. EXECUTIVE OFFICE STATE OF OHIO	OH	$1,463,709,963
7. STATE OF MICHIGAN, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE	MI	$1,302,368,992
8. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION	DC	$1,293,525,000
9. GEORGIA, STATE OF	GA	$1,260,799,095
10. EDUCATION, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF	CA	$1,226,944,052

Loans

Recipient	State	Amount Awarded
1. SOLYNDRA, INC.	CA	$535,000,000
2. GOVERNMENT OF GUAM- DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION	GU	$88,536,000
3. PIKEVILLE MEDICAL CENTER INC.	KY	$44,602,500
4. DILLON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION	SC	$35,820,000
5. JOHNSON, COUNTY OF	MO	$34,000,000
6. ELKINS, CITY OF	WV	$28,075,000
7. WASHINGTON COUNTY SERVICE AUTHORITY	VA	$26,580,000
8. CHATHAM, TOWN OF	MA	$21,585,540
9. SHELTON, CITY OF	WA	$20,379,000
10. OZARK MOUNTAIN REGIONAL PUBLIC WATER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS	AR	$19,365,000

Updated 6/16/2010

Now your first reaction might be to applaud this, but I encourage you to read the full press release and brief I've written which explains why this isn't the best way to spend billions of dollars and stimulate the economy while protecting the poor. And keep in mind, the government might be cleaning up some nuke waste, but its weapons labs and nuclear facilities continue to generate far greater amounts of it.

Okay, back to NM. Among other things I examine the largest contracts and grants made under the ARRA in New Mexico. What did I find?

A full quarter of these have been consumed by nuclear weapons and military contractors so far. Four of the top-ten contract recipients are nuclear weapons laboratory contractors. Thirty-six nuclear and military contractor recipients have consumed more than $504 million of New Mexico's ARRA allocation. Compared to practically every other federal agency, nuclear and military spending of ARRA funds has proven so far to be a poor generator of jobs. There are huge equity issues because this spending does not employ the tens of thousands of New Mexicans who have been harmed the most by the economic downturn.

There's so much more to be said, so please read ahead.