I don't think you understand what "stimulus" means, or how it works.  It's not and was never intended solely to go to unemployment benefits.  Handing cash to an organization (say, a science lab) that it then spends (to, say, do flawed or fraudulent research) produces economic activity (say, buying computers) that benefits the economy as a whole.  So at the end of the day there are fewer jobs lost in total.<p>There certainly isn't an "is the organization already solvent" test for stimulus cash; and to add one would be silly and self-defeating.  Really, it doesn't matter where the money goes as long as it's spent.  <i>All</i> spending is stimulatory.  The biggest problem with the stimulus bill was actually finding "public good" projects (i.e. ones that don't look like pork) that can spend the money <i>fast</i> enough.