Remember when President Obama was writing editorials in the Washington Post about how a failure to pass his stimulus plan would result in a deeper recession from which we’d never recover? Well, despite mounting bad economic news, things appear to have gotten a little less urgent since then. Or, at least that’s how it would seem considering how little of the stimulus money has actually been spent.

Nearly three months after President Obama approved a $787 billion economic stimulus package, intended to create or save jobs, the federal government has paid out less than 6 percent of the money, largely in the form of social service payments to states.

Although administration officials say the program is right on schedule, they have actually spent relatively little so far…

The intent of the stimulus program was to pump money into the economy quickly, and many members of Congress said at the time of its passage that speed was of the essence. But the huge program has been a challenge to administer for both a new administration and for states and local governments grappling with their own fiscal problems.

Some states and cities are beginning to complain that the money has yet to reach them.

And yet we were told at the time of passage that there was no time for an open, honest debate about how best to spend the money or even how much money should be spent. The left used scare tactics to swiftly pass the porkulus bill full of goodies for special interests. But here we are months later and only five percent of the appropriations have been spent, despite the fact that the economic situation is getting worse and states are preparing to lay-off workers. It’s almost like porukulus didn’t stimulate as intended. Who could’ve seen that coming?

More: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air.