You write, “THAT caused the great layoffs in construction, material supply and equipment usage that caused the huge downturn in 2009 after the 2008 stock market fiasco.”
You are 100% correct. That downturn was immediately noted in housing in Southern Arizona. Tens of thousands of laborers (many illegals) disappeared. Rentals went begging. And housing starts from Vegas, southwestern Utah, Phoenix and Tucson only recovered after a decade-long depression. Thousands of homes were taken over by the banks, and the depressed housing market only began to recover two years ago.
If you went through the stimulus spending bill, a majority of it was pay-offs. There was little money for new Professors, as professors take four to six year doctorate programs. Instead, there were studies, stipends, grants and other boondoggles to give academics, 95% from the left, a windfall.
Likewise, solar and green spending went to political insiders and was largely stolen.