Mayors from big cities are feeling shortchanged by the federal government, which they say is disproportionately handing out stimulus money to small and rural areas.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently released a report that blasts the federal government's disbursal of stimulus funding. The report argues that big cities aren't getting their fair share of the money.
"The mayors commissioned a report looking at a pot of $18 billion set aside for transportation. When the report was released this month, the 85 most populous metropolitan areas had received $8.8 billion -- or 48% of the total. Yet those same areas account for 63% of the U.S. population and 73% of the gross domestic product, the report said.
Chicago would need to get another $250 million in stimulus transportation funds to reach a level that reflects its contribution to the Illinois economy, the report calculated. In Ohio, Cleveland and Cincinnati account for 40% of the total economy yet received less than 5% of the transportation stimulus funds earmarked for the state."
FULL STORY: Mayors complain about stimulus spending
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