Specifically, politicians bring out all their pet projects during a downturn, and then some more, all under the guise of stimulus to support recovery. Significant elements of spending are simply payback to powerful interest groups, or a fulfillment of election promises with little need to justify their short-term benefit. Over one-third of the stimulus package passed by the Obama administration in its early months consisted of one-time tax rebates, which are known to, and did, have little effect on spending: they were more a form of redistribution to fulfill election promises.25
