Will stimulus money bypass our economic engines?

In a Washington Post article, Miami mayor and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Manuel Diaz calls the Obama administration's attitude on urban issues "incredibly refreshing".

But there's worry that, as money from the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package is routed through state governments, it will miss its goal of reinvigorating our true economic engines -- our cities.

That's because state governments, in an effort to please constituents and voting blocs, tend to distribute money evenly throughout the state.

"If we are trying to stimulate the nation's economy, we should put the money where the economy exists," says Rob Puentes, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.

Read the full article here.