I see that recovery.gov -- the administration's website for tracking stimulus dollars -- has gone live. From the website's welcome note:
Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics.There is an interactive map with state-by-state estimated job effects and a chart on the areas to which the funds are allocated.
Sadly, the interactive map is not Mac Firefox friendly. Safari seems fine.
Conceptually, I heartily approve of this kind of reporting. We heard a lot about how GW Bush was going to be our "CEO President", but CEOs could learn a lot from Obama's benchmark/achievement reporting methods. Especially as those strategies pertain to infrastructural improvement data, which isn't glamorous or always easy to communicate and, consequently, is often taken for granted.
Interactive maps, visual displays of data (in the most flattering light, of course), easy access (mostly)--all change I can believe in.
Also, they'd do better to include more links to their data source info. Just for fun.