States claim the stimulus law assaults state sovereignty by barring local governments from using aid money to cut taxes. But the Supreme Court has consistently approved conditions on federal spending.
For middle-class and wealthy families, securing government aid tends to be free of hassles. For low-income families, the process is often stigmatizing and the benefits meager.
Jeb Barnes, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The idea that Washington, D.C., is paralyzed by gridlock rests on half-truths about the legislative process and a basic misunderstanding of how contemporary policymaking works.