FYI, those types of government spending often end up being a long-term net positive for the budget. We immediately get a decent portion of those funds back thro

FYI, those types of government spending often end up being a long-term net positive for the budget. We immediately get a decent portion of those funds back through taxes on the people and businesses hired to do that work. And on the businesses they hire to supply them, especially with all the "buy American" requirements built in. Then those businesses have a ripple effect through local economies. Those plumbers and pavers need places to eat, shop, etc., and those people pay taxes. Those cooks and clerks need good and services too. And so on it goes. This is called the fiscal multiplier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_multiplier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_multiplier One estimate was that food stamps have a 1.73x multiplier effect, payroll tax cuts have a 1.29x effect, while the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy had a 0.29x effect.