Public Works Anyone?

So here's a thought:

There are many displaced people due to a hurricane. They are without homes, jobs, job places, and pretty much everything. It looks likely that some of those areas are not going to be occupiable.

So unemployed homeless people.

Why doesn't the government do what it did during the Great Depression? Dump a ton of money into projects that would rebuild homes, job places, etc. It would give jobs to those people who need them, and everything else that they need.

Am I the only who see the logic here?

I mean that's why the government collects taxes. To help the population, to care for it. So why not use that money for this purpose rather than building the next mansion for the overly wealthy or developing the next superbug?