Short, sarcastic answer? We dragged it out into a field, piled it all up in a heap, and set the heap on fire.
Longer, more thoughtful answer? Well…
As federal stimulus grants flowed into state- and local-government treasuries, borrowing by these same governments declined steadily. Instead of issuing more debt, state and local governments used most of the federal stimulus grants to finance their expenditures. To put it another way, the federal government borrowed funds from the public and transferred these funds to state and local governments, which then used the funds mainly to reduce borrowing from the public[*].
In other words: we dragged it out into a field, piled it all up in a heap, and set the heap on fire.
Moe Lane
*If this sentence did not make you wince, do the Republic a favor and STOP VOTING. You are undoubtedly choosing… poorly.