Stimulus cash is flowing - down a hole?

"We're not in the pothole business in the government of Canada," said the Finance Minister, just 19 months ago. Indeed not. Potholes are for the pikers in lower levels of public life. Our national government is preoccupied with more serious things.

Like the storm sewer business, for example. A new one is being installed along a street in St. Thomas, Ont. Back when Tories were Tories, that was known as "somebody else's problem." Now it's part of Canada's recovery plan, worthy of $1-million to $5-million in federal money. James Flaherty Stimulus Enterprises Corp. is also pleased to announce its expansion into roofing business, the bike lane business, the outdoor pool business, the rifle-range business (federal cash is going into a new one in Rossland, B.C.), the bridge business and the road repair business, including - among many similar projects - the repaving of a stretch of highway near Truro, N.S. (Are there any potholes along Route 212? Inquiring minds want to know.)

In the battle to persuade the public that the government is in firm control in the Great Recession, there's no project too small, no idea too petty that it can't be touted as stimulus for a weak economy. Time was when Ottawa could update the wiring in some ancient federal office building without making a big fuss about it. But now you can find out exactly where the plumbers will be plumbing and the painters will be rolling on the taxpayers' dime. Even a project of $1-million - that's the equivalent of 0.00007 per cent of gross domestic product, folks - earns its own spot on the official website of the government's Economic! Action! Plan! (look for the map with the little white shovels on it).

It's all very silly, yet also understandable. If you're going to thoroughly trash one of the central planks on which you were elected - no deficits, prudent management of the budget - you're going to bloody well make sure the voters know that they got something for it. Even if that something is as meaningless as new drywall in the local community centre, it's far more important to the Prime Minister that he can stand up and say, as he did this week, that 3,000 stimulus projects are under way. It's the best way for him to insulate himself from criticism, given how the debate has been shaped so far - a sterile argument about how much spending there ought to be and how quickly , as though the only thing that matters is heaving money out the door as quickly as possible. What you don't see is a real conversation about what it's being spent on.

This isn't only the government's fault. The opposition parties have veered from bashing Mr. Harper for not doing enough to combat the recession (the heartless, miserly Tories!) to bashing him for fiscal recklessness (the irresponsible, spendthrift Tories!), as though a Liberal-NDP coalition wouldn't also be running a $50-billion deficit, or something close to it. But again, all the focus is on the numbers, not on the substance.

So, speaking of numbers, let's examine Mr. Harper's claim that 80 per cent of the recovery package from the January budget is set "and is being implemented across the country." Roughly speaking, the government says it has planned nearly $30-billion in tax cuts and spending (mostly the latter) for this fiscal year. About $24-billion is "committed" - ergo, 80 per cent. But what's it committed to?

The first $10-billion is easy. That's the federal portion of the auto bailout and other industry aid programs. Another $2.6-billion is for the unemployed, including training programs and a modest improvement to unemployment benefits. A grab-bag of minor tax moves, such as the ballyhooed tax credit for home renos, consumes $2.4-billion.

So far we're up to $15-billion and we've saved a few jobs (temporarily, at least) assembling minivans at Chrysler, helped the jobless, and patched up some driveways. Fine. Where's the rest going? The vast majority falls under the sweeping category of "infrastructure" - which, as defined in 2009, appears to include every maintenance project short of installing energy-efficient light bulbs at 24 Sussex Drive. By far the smallest part of the package (just $1.9-billion, of which $1.1-billion is gone) is devoted to science or research or venture capital. The Harper government grandly calls this "creating the economy of the tomorrow," but is apparently more fixated on saving the economy of yesterday.

It's unfair to blame Messrs. Harper or Flaherty too harshly for failing to predict last September's financial meltdown, the economic crisis, or for the swing from surplus to a $50-billion deficit in one year. Almost no one foresaw a recession this virulent. The question is not whether the Conservatives could have prevented it, but rather, two years from now, when we have nearly $100-billion in new debt on the books - what will we have to show for the money?