I don't object to PWA style projects when we find things that we want to do. I don't think it's a sensible way to guarantee a job. As orangecat said downthread a bit, "shovel-ready" often isn't. I want to spend money to build the infrastructure we actually need. I don't want to throw money at boondoggles, which will be increasingly hard to avoid if we structurally have to keep pushing out projects whether or not we have anything that's actually 1) a good idea, and 2) ready to go.
Edited to add: To be precise, when I say "throw money at", I really mean "throw physical resources and people's time at, while shifting power toward whoever organized it". Obviously I'm advocating paying out some of the money either way so that's not the difference.
Certainly not, but requiring any purchase decision be backed up by someone wanting the thing helps quite a bit. That's something that naturally follows in the private sector when we give people cash, and frequently happens in the public sector when things are working right, but is undermined by pressure to build out projects to "provide jobs" - and a guarantee makes that worse.
I'll note again that I'm certainly well in favor of improving our infrastructure.
Edited to add: To be precise, when I say "throw money at", I really mean "throw physical resources and people's time at, while shifting power toward whoever organized it". Obviously I'm advocating paying out some of the money either way so that's not the difference.