The sour economic picture continues to generate plenty of bad ideas in which the government would misuse taxpayer dollars. John Locke Foundation Fiscal Policy Analyst Joseph Coletti contributed to a National Review Online symposium Thursday critiquing plans for federal government investments in infrastructure projects. Coletti also appeared in the News & Observer‘s “Under the Dome” column Monday previewing likely budget recommendations he’ll offer to state budget writers in 2009. (The same column featured the John Locke Foundation a second time, mentioning JLF’s support for a government transparency project called Citizens Informed.) Coletti also offered the Rocky Mount Telegram a response to poorly conceived state budget ideas touted by the left-leaning N.C. Justice Center.