This picture is a lie:

If you can't read it (and it's a crappy picture that I took with my iPhone while standing shakily on top of a construction barrier), it says, "Recovery in Progress". Since recovery funds were used, this project is supposed to be a shining example of the Stimulus Plan in action. But there is really a lot more to this story.

If we set the way-back machine to 1999, we see: Intel, Analog Devices to Build Design Center in Austin, Texas. Intel, flush with a bunch of tax breaks from the city, was going to build a whopping 10-story design center downtown. They got the shell built, but the bust came and they decided to ditch the project, leaving Austin with a bone-white skeleton on the skyline:

Of course, this left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Jim Hightower, with his usual dudgeon, furiously denounced Intel and all other corporations. By 2002, Intel had decided to sell the building. Unfortunately, the sale proved difficult and things went back and forth until it was finally demolished in 2007. At that time, back in 2007, the site was already scheduled to get a federal courthouse. In fact, the courthouse deal was announced as far back as 2005. From this article, we have this quote:

The new Federal Courthouse is expected to cost between $45M - $55M and will house the U.S. Magistrate and U.S. District courts. Renderings and models of the 7-story building could be released in February 2006 and final design work should be completed in the first quarter of 2007. The earliest that construction could begin is in 2008 or 2009 with construction lasting another 2-1/2 years.

So, back in 2005, the deal was already inked. Now, in 2009, we find: ARRA Funding Stimulates Austin Federal Courthouse Project. From this article, we read:

"We were told at the time that it would probably not be until March 2010 before construction would begin because of congressional funding,” says Bill Farnum, White’s vice president of preconstruction. “So it’s actually moved forward about six to eight months."

So, the Stimulus Plan didn't really stimulate anything. It just moved construction up a few months for a project that was already a year or two behind in starting.

OK, so that's fine, no real harm done and I guess it's good that they're at least getting under way to build on the site. But what the heck is the notation "President Barack Obama" doing on the top right of the sign? Is he going to help build it? Does he even know it's going up? Whose idea was it to put that in there? I'm sure it wasn't the Obama Administration's idea, but really, WTF?

Update, July 2010: Well, it turns out that the signs are mandatory. The official EPA document on the stimulus money says:

Signage –V. ARRA

Logo Recipient shall display the ARRA logo in a manner that informs the public that the Project is an ARRA investment.

So, isn't that special? Not too smart, either. The last thing you really need to be doing with the economy in the tank and taxes going up is to remind people that you spent a lot of money on the stimulus and it didn't really do anything.