I’m going to try something a little bit new with this post. I’ll present a story containing a ridiculous comment from an Obama staffer, then I’ll rebut it with comment from another Obama staffer. This should be fun.
Seven months into the massive federal stimulus program, the vast majority of government grants, contracts and loans in Michigan so far have created or retained virtually no jobs, a Free Press analysis shows.
The analysis also revealed that others who have been promised or have received stimulus money have overstated — in some cases greatly — the number of jobs created or protected.
Obama administration and state officials say it’s too early to draw conclusions about the overall impact of the $787-billion nationwide program to stimulate the economy and generate jobs. They promise that job growth will follow as more funding arrives.
“It looks to us like the program is unfolding much as we hoped in Michigan,” said White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein.
And now, the rebuttal to the administration’s promise, from the head of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. One small bit of background. The amount of Stimulus money spent is less than 25 percent of the total the administration says was necessary to hold unemployment to 8 percent (and the total of $787 billion does not include debt service, which takes the total well over a trillion dollars) Okay, let’s move on:
The government’s economic stimulus spending has already had its biggest impact and probably won’t contribute to significant growth next year, a top White House adviser said Thursday.
Christina Romer, the chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, said the initial jolt of the $787 billion stimulus expanded the economy in the second and third quarters of this year. But she said the remaining spending will simply keep the economy from slipping.
“By mid-2010,” she said, “fiscal stimulus will likely be contributing little to further growth.”
Tags: Christine Romer, Economic Stimulus
I just want to point out in their defense these are Liberal Spokespeople and their reality is whatever is said at the moment not the past or future. Yes I am going for the Reality is whatever I say it is Defense.