Michigan is Tops for Unemployment, Near Bottom for Stimulus Help

Michigan ranked near the bottom in the country in the amount of federal stimulus dollars per person it received, according to a study, raising questions why a state that led the nation in unemployment for years would not be the focus of the federal jobs bill.

Michigan ranked 46^th in the country at $310 per person in federal stimulus funds, according to a study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Michigan ranked 31^st in the country with $3.09 billion in stimulus dollars. The per capita number is based on a population of 9.9 million.

The national average was $350 per person. Vermont received $414 per person. Vermont's unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in June 2010, compared to Michigan's 13.1 percent.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - or the federal stimulus act - allocated $787 billion to spark the economy.

Veronique de Rugy, who conducted the study, said people would expect Michigan to get more stimulus dollars since it has high unemployment rates.

She said either that Obama Administration has not done a good job implementing the stimulus dollars or they don't believe in its own theory that the stimulus would create jobs.