Geographic Insight A more rational approach to managing stimulus spending Faced with historically high national unemployment rates and a continuing decline in real gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2008, newly elected U.S. president Barack Obama responded with an unprecedented economic stimulus package that provides funding for hundreds of projects with the primary goal of jump-starting the economy and preserving and creating millions of jobs. GIS can provide a tremendously effective framework not only for monitoring and disseminating information about these expenditures but also as a decision-making tool for prioritizing and optimizing the execution of projects and programs.