Instead of attempting a short-term fix of amplifying the grant system through an emergency stimulus package, the federal government should work to make state and local governments accountable for their own spending decisions. This means reducing states’ and localities’ reliance on federal funding for local priorities and allowing local activities to be addressed by the appropriate mechanisms: state and local governments and the private and philanthropic sectors.

Fear of a deep recession has led policy makers to propose an unprecedented stimulus package to save the economy, a sort of Main Street economic recovery package that would rely heavily on government-sponsored infrastructure projects to create jobs and stimulate economic activity. The problem is real. If history is any guide, however, the bailout the government proposes won’t work.