The Obama White House on Friday said the $787 billion economic stimulus plan approved early this year had saved or created 640,329 jobs so far.
[...]
The majority of jobs backed with stimulus dollars were in education -- 325,000 -- and construction -- 80,000, the White House said.
[...]
Earlier this month, a report based on information from recipients showed just federal contracts awarded under the plan had translated into little more than 30,000 jobs
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Projections of how many workers now draw paychecks backed by the stimulus range from groups such as the Congressional Budget Office and Moody's Economy.com range from 600,000 to 1.53 million.

The White House shot back at its critics, pointing to the economy's 3.5% third-quarter growth rate as evidence of the stimulus's impact. The Council of Economic Advisers believes the Recovery Act contributed between three and four percentage points to growth in the third quarter. Without the stimulus, the economy would have expanded "little, if at all," the White House said.

It’s easy to ridicule the White House’s estimate that 650,000 jobs have so far been “saved or created” by the $150 billion spent so far from their $787 billion stimulus bill. That’s because while it’s possible to measure jobs created by the stimulus (for example, counting the number of construction workers on an infrastructure project funded by the bill), it’s a lot less clear how you measure jobs saved by it.
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The disparate estimates come down to the multiplier effect. There are jobs directly created, and then there are jobs that are created or saved because the direct beneficiaries are still employed. For example, the stimulus money may have financed a construction workers’ job, but it also may have saved the job of someone at the grocery store where he shops. There’s also the issue of government jobs saved. Many states were planning layoffs that were either canceled or postponed because of stimulus money. But again, those numbers are difficult to quantify.

Most economists agree that multipliers have an effect. Back in February, the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting survey showed economists expected the nation to shed 183,000 jobs on average over the next year — a grim figure, but a markedly better one than the loss of 271,000 jobs they predicted without the stimulus package. That estimate from 46 economists equals about a million jobs saved over 12 months — and that’s the figure Vice President Joe Biden says the stimulus bill will ultimately reach, once the rest of the funds are spent.

LOL it is a corker Joph. It's a corker that you people keep drinking the kool-aid. You posted a op-ed piece to back up your argument with a lot of "the White House" says

This sounds a lot like trickle down economics that some people get their shorts in a wad over.

This sounds a lot like trickle down economics that some people get their shorts in a wad over.

What a Deal

He's English you @#%^ing idiot.

One man's WMD is another man's Stimulus Plan.

LOL the Economy has improved? You mean unemployment that is reaching 10%? All of those jobs that have been saved, none of which can be proven and then there is the jobs that have been "created" which even if you use the Democrats numbers of job creation would mean that each job has cost the tax payers of this country more than 150k each and balloned the national debt so much that it will take generations to pay off,

Thats your idea of the stimulus worked and the economy has been saved?

What flavor is that kool-aid?

Grape. I'm a little leery of cherry and/or strawberry. They seem to come with this giant pitcher that breaks down walls.

Edited, Nov 2nd 2009 11:20am by Uglysasquatch

So you're saying NO jobs have been created? Not a single new job has been created? You really want to say something that idiotic?

All the while creating more jobs.

And it took 230k to create one job when you take into account the stimulus money spent on "creating jobs"

Im at work so I can't go into great detail about all the things that are wrong in your post but that one line you said just stood out.

Forcing Banks to loan is one of the major reasons we are in this mess to begin with.

Barnie Frank and Maxine Waters and Freddie and Fannie anyone????!!!!????

Omega,



I hope you're not betting what's left of your 401k. You're delusional if you think this economy has hit rock bottom and on the way up.

The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, established in 1983. The NCPA's goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector. Topics include reforms in health care, taxes, Social Security, welfare, criminal justice, education and environmental regulation.