7 Months after Stimulus 49 of 50 states have lost jobs

[ZahZoo]

Sure, right after you show me "verifiable evidence" that it's Obama's fault the economy is in the shitter and unemployment is nearing 10%. Or that things would be any better under a McPalin administration..

I've never asserted the current economy is any fault of Obama's... ever.

My position has always been that the White House has had very little impact on the overall economy in the US historically. Every adminsitration has tried to claim successes and blame failures of various administrations over time... reality... much of what goes on in Washington has nothing to do with the economy directly. Indirectly... yes taxes and regulatory legislation has proved to have an effect over time, good and terrible...

Congress has had more of hand overall... the current situation is a result of deregulation and piss poor regulatory oversight in the banking/Wall St areas. Add to that a lot of criminal activity in the financial industry. I'm still amazed at the lack of prosecution that's not occurring right now...

The failure of the auto industry was self induced and had nothing to do with government.

Obama's presidency caused none of this... he just gets to steer the ship through the times. Although I'm not convinced the handling of our tax dollars are helping anything much at present...

GW Bush's administration had a hand in things... but frankly a lot of the root here was put into play before he was elected.

The bigger picture though is what businesses have done... the whole financial and insurance industry holds a huge hand in what got us here. Auto companies should have been allowed to fail... economic catastrophy... yep. But the $$billions$$ spent were mostly wasted IMO.

[Big Train]

And the Shell Games of trying to figure out what was "Saved' vs. "Created" continue:

Not all jobs 'saved' by stimulus were in danger | Columbus Dispatch Politics

Not all jobs 'saved' by stimulus were in danger
Tuesday, November 3, 2009



The Obama administration announced Friday that federal stimulus money had created or saved about 7,200 education jobs in Ohio as of Sept. 30.

Although a couple of hundred of those jobs were in Columbus City Schools, the district acknowledged yesterday that many of the "saved" jobs definitely wouldn't have been lost in the first place, and others might not have been lost at all.

"I know we explained to (the Ohio Department of Education) what we were doing, and they told us what categories to use," said Jill Dannemiller, director of federal programs for the Columbus schools.

Although other areas of the district's budget might have suffered without the stimulus, district officials said, the jobs report nonetheless highlighted the fuzzy math involved in pinpointing a saved-jobs number.

The Obama administration announced Friday that about 640,000 jobs had been created or saved by the $787 billion stimulus package, with 325,000 of them in education. It didn't differentiate between saved jobs and created jobs.

Federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a conference call with reporters yesterday that the country has "325,000 who would literally not be in the classroom today if not for these funds." But not in Columbus, where the district's finances looked pretty solid before the stimulus. Voters passed a levy last November that should keep the district's books largely in the black until 2012.

Of the 212.5 full-time equivalent jobs the district said were funded with part of the $64 million in stimulus it expects to receive, about 65 percent were "saved," including 36 principals and assistant principals.

So was the district on the verge of laying off 36 school administrators?

"No," Dannemiller said, explaining that the reporting choices were "created" and "saved."

"They weren't 'created,' obviously, so our only other choice was 'saved.' "

The federal Office of Management and Budget told agencies in June to define a "saved" job as "an existing position that would not have been continued to be filled were it not for Recovery Act funding."

District spokeswoman Kim Norris said the "stabilization" part of the stimulus -- designed to make up state education aid to districts that otherwise might have been cut -- makes up about 6 percent of Columbus schools' state aid. So, she said, if it hadn't been for the stimulus money, the district "would have had some decisions as what to do with that shortfall."

So although 36 principal jobs were not specifically saved, something likely got saved somewhere in the budget, she said.

Columbus also reported the full-time equivalent of 84 part-time reading tutors' jobs saved, plus six teachers who work in the district's most academically troubled schools.

Still, it's difficult to attribute those jobs' survival to the stimulus spending, Dannemiller said.

"It's a difficult question because we didn't have to face that question, because we knew the money was coming," she said.

The district doesn't know what will happen to the positions when the stimulus money runs out, Dannemiller said. The district might end up keeping them, depending on its financial situation.

[Fuct Jup]

Your Stimulus Dollars At Work....



After a flurry of stimulus spending, questionable projects pile up | Washington Examiner

Sources: News reports, Office of the Senate Minority Leader, Office of Sen. Tom Coburn

The $787 billion stimulus bill was passed in February and was promised as a job saver and economy booster. Here is where some of the money went:

- $300,000 for a GPS-equipped helicopter to hunt for radioactive rabbit droppings at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state.

- $30 million for a spring training baseball complex for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

- $11 million for Microsoft to build a bridge connecting its two headquarter campuses in Redmond, Wash., which are separated by a highway.

- $430,000 to repair a bridge in Iowa County, Wis., that carries 10 or fewer cars per day.

- $800,000 for the John Murtha Airport in Johnstown, Pa., serving about 20 passengers per day, to build a backup runway.

- $219,000 for Syracuse University to study the sex lives of freshmen women.

- $2.3 million for the U.S. Forest Service to rear large numbers of arthropods, including the Asian longhorned beetle, the nun moth and the woolly adelgid.

- $3.4 million for a 13-foot tunnel for turtles and other wildlife attempting to cross U.S. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla.

- $1.15 million to install a guardrail for a persistently dry lake bed in Guymon, Okla.

- $9.38 million to renovate a century-old train depot in Lancaster County, Pa., that has not been used for three decades.

- $2.5 million in stimulus checks sent to the deceased.

- $6 million for a snow-making facility in Duluth, Minn.

- $173,834 to weatherize eight pickup trucks in Madison County, Ill.

- $20,000 for a fish sperm freezer at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery in South Dakota.

- $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan.

- $300 apiece for thousands of signs at road construction sites across the country announcing that the projects are funded by stimulus money.

- $1.5 million for a fence to block would-be jumpers from leaping off the All-American Bridge in Akron, Ohio.

- $1 million to study the health effects of environmentally friendly public housing on 300 people in Chicago.

- $356,000 for Indiana University to study childhood comprehension of foreign accents compared with native speech.

- $983,952 for street beautification in Ann Arbor, Mich., including decorative lighting, trees, benches and bike paths.

- $148,438 for Washington State University to analyze the use of marijuana in conjunction with medications like morphine.

- $462,000 to purchase 22 concrete toilets for use in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri

- $3.1 million to transform a canal barge into a floating museum that will travel the Erie Canal in New York state.

- $1.3 million on government arts jobs in Maine, including $30,000 for basket makers, $20,000 for storytelling and $12,500 for a music festival.

- $71,000 for a hybrid car to be used by student drivers in Colchester, Vt., as well as a plug-in hybrid for town workers decked out with a sign touting the vehicle's energy efficiency.

- $1 million for Portland, Ore., to replace 100 aging bike lockers and build a garage that would house 250 bicycles.

[Big Train]

All solid "Job Creating and/Or Saving".

Shovel-Ready indeed....feed the sheep.

[Nickdfresh]

I've never asserted the current economy is any fault of Obama's... ever.

My position has always been that the White House has had very little impact on the overall economy in the US historically. Every adminsitration has tried to claim successes and blame failures of various administrations over time... reality... much of what goes on in Washington has nothing to do with the economy directly. Indirectly... yes taxes and regulatory legislation has proved to have an effect over time, good and terrible...

Congress has had more of hand overall... the current situation is a result of deregulation and piss poor regulatory oversight in the banking/Wall St areas. Add to that a lot of criminal activity in the financial industry. I'm still amazed at the lack of prosecution that's not occurring right now...

The failure of the auto industry was self induced and had nothing to do with government.

Obama's presidency caused none of this... he just gets to steer the ship through the times. Although I'm not convinced the handling of our tax dollars are helping anything much at present...

GW Bush's administration had a hand in things... but frankly a lot of the root here was put into play before he was elected.

The bigger picture though is what businesses have done... the whole financial and insurance industry holds a huge hand in what got us here. Auto companies should have been allowed to fail... economic catastrophy... yep. But the $$billions$$ spent were mostly wasted IMO.

I don't disagree with most of what you say. Especially when it comes to the White House having little direct on the economy generally, in normal times. Carter had little directly to do with the recession that happened mostly after his presidency was over, and Reagan really can't claim all that much credit for the recovery. However, Hoover's inaction is generally recognized to have been disastrous and a catalyst for concurrent economic meltdowns that constitute the Great Depression. I do think that Obama's policies stopped much of the bleeding and limited the recession to a minor depression as opposed to the "Great" one it could have become. Maybe even Bush deserves some credit for that as well? Everything I've read says that most economists agree with me...

But yes, the efforts are temporary and you can't spend your way out of a bad economy, at least the gov't can't...

[Nickdfresh]

After a flurry of stimulus spending, questionable projects pile up | Washington Examiner

Sources: News reports, Office of the Senate Minority Leader, Office of Sen. Tom Coburn

The $787 billion stimulus bill was passed in February and was promised as a job saver and economy booster. Here is where some of the money went:

- $300,000 for a GPS-equipped helicopter to hunt for radioactive rabbit droppings at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state.

- $30 million for a spring training baseball complex for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

- $11 million for Microsoft to build a bridge connecting its two headquarter campuses in Redmond, Wash., which are separated by a highway.

- $430,000 to repair a bridge in Iowa County, Wis., that carries 10 or fewer cars per day.

- $800,000 for the John Murtha Airport in Johnstown, Pa., serving about 20 passengers per day, to build a backup runway.

- $219,000 for Syracuse University to study the sex lives of freshmen women.

- $2.3 million for the U.S. Forest Service to rear large numbers of arthropods, including the Asian longhorned beetle, the nun moth and the woolly adelgid.

- $3.4 million for a 13-foot tunnel for turtles and other wildlife attempting to cross U.S. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla.

- $1.15 million to install a guardrail for a persistently dry lake bed in Guymon, Okla.

- $9.38 million to renovate a century-old train depot in Lancaster County, Pa., that has not been used for three decades.

- $2.5 million in stimulus checks sent to the deceased.

- $6 million for a snow-making facility in Duluth, Minn.

- $173,834 to weatherize eight pickup trucks in Madison County, Ill.

- $20,000 for a fish sperm freezer at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery in South Dakota.

- $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan.

- $300 apiece for thousands of signs at road construction sites across the country announcing that the projects are funded by stimulus money.

- $1.5 million for a fence to block would-be jumpers from leaping off the All-American Bridge in Akron, Ohio.

- $1 million to study the health effects of environmentally friendly public housing on 300 people in Chicago.

- $356,000 for Indiana University to study childhood comprehension of foreign accents compared with native speech.

- $983,952 for street beautification in Ann Arbor, Mich., including decorative lighting, trees, benches and bike paths.

- $148,438 for Washington State University to analyze the use of marijuana in conjunction with medications like morphine.

- $462,000 to purchase 22 concrete toilets for use in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri

- $3.1 million to transform a canal barge into a floating museum that will travel the Erie Canal in New York state.

- $1.3 million on government arts jobs in Maine, including $30,000 for basket makers, $20,000 for storytelling and $12,500 for a music festival.

- $71,000 for a hybrid car to be used by student drivers in Colchester, Vt., as well as a plug-in hybrid for town workers decked out with a sign touting the vehicle's energy efficiency.

- $1 million for Portland, Ore., to replace 100 aging bike lockers and build a garage that would house 250 bicycles.

Oh how outrageous!! You mean the gov't is spending money on infrastructure, reclamation, and other projects relating to scientific study?

Most of the above would only be "controversial" to a complete fuckwit and makes sense when thought about in context. The above is a much better use of money than---say---the military building stealthy, super high tech F-22 Raptors, which although I admit to being completely fucking awesome in every way , have no real justifiable mission and whose function can be done much cheaper by upgraded current F-15s and F-16s!..

[Big Train]

It's not "outrageous" as in anyone being shocked by this (it's the government), but it was sold as job creating. Stimulus checks for the deceased, buying toilets and buying a hybrid car did not create a SINGLE job.

For those of us opposed to the stimulus to begin with, this does not impress.

[ODShowtime]

7 Months After Stimulus 49 of 50 States Have Lost Jobs

The stimulus package spending included tremendous oversight and audit requirements. Even without that, it takes awhile to allocate and approve all that spending. Positions need to be added to budgets that are approved by boards. Beyond the fact that this garbage pile of rot began before the latest administration took office, it takes more than 7 months to spend all that money!

BTW I got laid off in August and it was horrible. Worst market of my life by far... and I just started a new job on Monday. Thank goodness I do the same thing for the same pay in the same place. I'm skilled and lucky, many around me are screwed. And where I live the unemployment rate is above the national average. You can see the recession kill spending and happiness around here.

[ODShowtime]

The $787 billion stimulus bill was passed in February and was promised as a job saver and economy booster. Here is where some of the money went:

- $219,000 for Syracuse University to study the sex lives of freshmen women.

- $148,438 for Washington State University to analyze the use of marijuana in conjunction with medications like morphine.

Man they could give me $100 grand to consolidate these two studies and save some loot. There are profound truths to be discovered!!

[Big Train]

The stimulus package spending included tremendous oversight and audit requirements. Even without that, it takes awhile to allocate and approve all that spending. Positions need to be added to budgets that are approved by boards. Beyond the fact that this garbage pile of rot began before the latest administration took office, it takes more than 7 months to spend all that money!

BTW I got laid off in August and it was horrible. Worst market of my life by far... and I just started a new job on Monday. Thank goodness I do the same thing for the same pay in the same place. I'm skilled and lucky, many around me are screwed. And where I live the unemployment rate is above the national average. You can see the recession kill spending and happiness around here.

Even with that ( a theory Nick has kicked around as well), how does anyone justify buying 22 toilets as a stimulus for job creation? That was the original and specific intent and none of money spent thus far (as small as it may be) has really created Job One thus far. That's the real problem. Multiplying that out, I don't see a huge upside to the stimulus.

[Big Train]

Man they could give me $100 grand to consolidate these two studies and save some loot. There are profound truths to be discovered!!

Is it possible to be both a study participant and author of the study? I would guess if we consolidated both studies we would get better results AND save money.

[Nickdfresh]

It's not "outrageous" as in anyone being shocked by this (it's the government), but it was sold as job creating.

It was never 'sold' as solely job creation...

Stimulus checks for the deceased,

Like the estate tax?

buying toilets and buying a hybrid car did not create a SINGLE job.

Um, increasing consumption increases demand, which in turn increases production, which then increases jobs...

For those of us opposed to the stimulus to begin with, this does not impress.

I'm sure it doesn't. If stories about the majority of economist agreeing that the stimulus did benefit the economy and kept us from a teetering edge don't "convince" you, nothing will!

[Big Train]

It was never 'sold' as solely job creation...

It was sold on that basis, with added side effects. Intellectually dishonest to not say so.

Like the estate tax?

I've never seen a case where someone got a check for their estate tax.

Um, increasing consumption increases demand, which in turn increases production, which then increases jobs...

Buying ONE car increases consumption a fraction of a fraction. Nobody adds jobs to the production line based on that..

I'm sure it doesn't. If stories about the majority of economist agreeing that the stimulus did benefit the economy and kept us from a teetering edge don't "convince" you, nothing will!

If the majority of weatherman claim downpours and I see sunny skies, your right, it doesn't.

[Fuct Jup]

Oh how outrageous!! You mean the gov't is spending money on infrastructure, reclamation, and other projects relating to scientific study?

Most of the above would only be "controversial" to a complete fuckwit and makes sense when thought about in context. The above is a much better use of money than---say---the military building stealthy, super high tech F-22 Raptors, which although I admit to being completely fucking awesome in every way , have no real justifiable mission and whose function can be done much cheaper by upgraded current F-15s and F-16s!..

Fucking DemoCunt logic. What a fucking joke!

[Nickdfresh]

Fucking DemoCunt logic. What a fucking joke!

Read my other post above, when you're not raping your Ronald Reagan fuck doll, idiot...