Despite Surge in Unemployment, White House Says Economic Stimulus ‘Saved or Crea

[Chris_]

Despite Surge in Unemployment, White House Says Economic Stimulus ‘Saved or Created’ 250,000 Jobs

(CNSNews.com) – The stimulus is working, a White House economic adviser declared on Monday, citing a new report that 250,000 education jobs were “saved or created.” This news, however, comes at a time of 9.8 percent unemployment and 21 straight months of job losses nationwide.

It is difficult to say how many jobs were “saved” and how many were “created” by the $67 billion in stimulus education grants, said Jared Bernstein, executive director of the White House’s Middle Class Task Force and chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden. He also did not know how many jobs were teaching jobs or other public school staff positions.

*snip*

At best, the stimulus has had a net zero effect on the economy, said Brian Reidl, senior federal budget analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation.

“Of course when the government spends money, some of those dollars will go to hire and employ people,” Reidl told CNSNews.com.

“But that came from money that was taxed or borrowed out of the economy, so fewer people are employed in the private sector,” he said. “This is killing as many jobs as it’s creating. It’s why government stimulus programs didn’t work in the Great Depression and why they didn’t work in Japan in the 1990s.”

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One would think that they'd be quoting facts and figures all over the place to back up what they say.  Hmmmm, wonder why the can't seem to do that.

[Carl]

No offense intended towards teachers in general but in essence it "saved" jobs that are financed by the public.
It produced nothing that would generate the revenue to continue to support those jobs once the money has been spent.

Just plain stupid but the unions got paid off.

[Celtic Rose]

No offense intended towards teachers in general but in essence it "saved" jobs that are financed by the public.
It produced nothing that would generate the revenue to continue to support those jobs once the money has been spent.

Just plain stupid but the unions got paid off.

The unions in California are really starting to bug me (not that they didn't before).  We are having a serious budget crises, and all you read about the public sector unions is how they won't give, and how awful it is that their workers are getting furloughed, etc., etc.  I look at that and think, California's unemployment is around 12%, the state has something like a billion dollar deficit, and these workers and their union think that it is unfair that they would be effected.  Don't even get me started on school related unions.  My mom works at a school, and she tells me stories that make me so mad. 

[NHSparky]

Not to worry, same thing is happening in comparatively "well-off" states like NH, where the unemployment rate right now is "only" 6.9 percent as of August.  The governor was trying to make a deal with the state employees union (SEIU--ring a bell, kids?) to where they'd have to take 19 furlough days over the next two years--but to make up for that, they could take an equal number of vacation days after that.

The union told their workers to reject it, and they did.  Now the governor is laying off several hundred of those union hacks.  But it gets better.  The SEIU is threatening to tie the whole layoff plan in court.

Aren't unions wonderful?

http://granitegrok.com/blog/2009/10/reason_why_nh_state_employees_are_being.html

[docstew]

Didn't a different study by, IIRC, the CBO say the number was 30k and change?  Besides, they promised to save 2.5M jobs, not 250k.  BO, your math is off by a factor of 10, if it's true at all.  No more stimulus for you!

[debk]

The economy would have been stimulated better to have handed out money directly to each individual in the country.

They would have gone out and spent at the very least, some of it if all.....that would have stimulated the economy!!

[thundley4]

The stimulus is working just as they planned.  Protecting governmental union jobs while small businesses continue to shed thousands of jobs.

[Chris_]

Didn't a different study by, IIRC, the CBO say the number was 30k and change?  Besides, they promised to save 2.5M jobs, not 250k.  BO, your math is off by a factor of 10, if it's true at all.  No more stimulus for you!

That was last week's figure........we have lost 500,000 jobs in the private sector since the messiah took office, and he has "saved" 30,000 in the public sector.......forget what he promised, these are actual results........regardless of how the WH spins it, the stimulus is an epic failure.

doc