New York Times reporter Nelson Schwartz finds the French are doing a better job of spending stimulus money than their counterparts in Washington. It’s a fascinating story of how bureaucrats who’ve perfected the art of government waste got an extra $34 billion to fritter away, but Schwartz focuses on the rather paltry $100 million devoted to restoring the even more extravagant state-funded projects of pre-revolutionary France. He also hints at some anecdotal evidence that the money is having an impact. The Washington Post did a more thorough job on the details of the French stimulus back in January. It’s a mix of infrastructure spending, cash payments, and tax write-offs. But at just $34 billion the French stimulus is small potatoes compared to the $787 billion Democrats plan to spend. So the French have been able to waste less money faster. And they’re arrogant about it. Maybe tomorrow the Times can send a reporter across the Rhine to tell us whether Germans are indeed efficient and humorless.
