Since advancing the idea of a stimulus President Obama has touted the expenditure of stimulus dollars as a job creator. As the months have gone by since the stimulus funding was approved by Congress and the President, the President and other Democrats have repeatedly thrown out numbers of jobs created, claiming considerable success. The figure of 640,000 jobs created has been the most recent number claimed by the Obama administration.
Critics, including Republican leaders, have retorted that the numbers are not real and that part of the proof of that is the rising numbers of unemployed in the United States, now in excess of 10% nationally. Some light has been shed on the subject of stimulus job creation by recent testimony before a Congressional Committee
The New York Times has reported that Earl E. Devaney, the Chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, testified Thursday on the subject of job numbers at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he could not vouch for the Obama administration’s recent claims that the money had saved or created 640,000 jobs. He suggested that the administration should have treated the number with more skepticism.”
The article also quotes Devaney as saying “I think it could be above or below 640. I think missing reports might drive the job numbers up, and I think there’s enough inaccuracies in here to question if the 640 number might go down.” An unnamed Administration spokesman also said the 640,000 job figure could be high, or it could be low.
Politicians in Congress on both sides of the aisle seem aghast at the uncertainty of the numbers, given that the White House formally issued the figure of 640,000 about 3 weeks ago. It seems anger and distrust abounds on this issue in D.C.
At the risk of being labeled a cynic, one has to wonder if we can believe anything coming out of Washington.
Here’s a stimulus success story: In Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, 30 jobs have been saved or created with just $761,420 in federal stimulus spending. At least that’s what the website set up by the Obama Administration to track the $787 billion stimulus says.
There’s one problem, though: There is no 9th Congressional District in Arizona; the state has only eight Congressional Districts.
The list of spending and job creation in fictional Congressional Districts extends to U.S. territories as well.
– $68.3 million spent and 72.2 million spent in the 1st Congressional District of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
– $8.4 million spent and 40.3 jobs created in the 99th Congressional District of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
– $1.5 million spent and .3 jobs created in the 69th district and $35 million for 142 jobs in the 99th district of the Northern Mariana Islands. (WTF, how do you create .3 jobs?)
– $47.7 million spent and 291 jobs created in Puerto Rico’s 99th Congressional District.
Interesting facts and figures, but none of these districts exist…
Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, issued a statement demanding an update of the recovery.gov Web-site: “The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes…
“Credibility counts in government and stupid mistakes like this undermine it,” Obey writes. “We’ve got too many serious problems in this country to let that happen.”
Great article Over!
Mr. Crowley, your response is right on. Guess this is change, but looks like we’d better not believe in it. Makes one wonder what the next misrepresentation will be.
Stimulus you say? Not here.
In fact we have been told that nationwide unemployment in the construction industry is at 18.7 percent or is it 17.8.
Both huge numbers.