Could Americans consider “stimulus” and “wasteful” to be one and the same? Why does common sense often fly out the window when so much money is at stake?

The Democrats’ 1,100-page,  $787 billion economic stimulus bill, officially known as the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” was hurriedly passed and signed into law in February 2009, one month after Barack Obama became president. It was the first of a number of Democratic-led bills that would be opposed by the majority of Americans.