I knew there was something else I wanted to write about Friday. The 3rd anniversary of Obama’s massive, pork laden, campaign donor hookup entitled the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, otherwise known as The Stimulus That Didn’t. It’s rather strange that neither Obama nor any Democrats talked about how great Stimulus was yesterday
(IBD) Without any fanfare whatsoever from the White House, February 17 marks the three-year anniversary of the day President Obama signed the much ballyhooed stimulus into law.
At the time, Obama claimed that it would “create or save” up to 3.5 million jobs, and that “a new wave of innovation, activity and construction will be unleashed across America.” The stimulus, would, he promised””ignite spending by businesses and consumers” and bring “real and lasting change for generations to come.”
And then we found out that the jobs weren’t so *Obama laugh track* shovel ready. And the money was wasted on project after project.
So three years later, how do the stimulus results stack up? Here’s where various indicators stood in or around February 2009, and where they stand today.
Unemployment rate: The jobless rate is unchanged from February 2009 to January 2012, the latest month for which we have data. Both stood at 8.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Obama’s economists had initially predicted that with the stimulus, unemployment would stay below 8%.
Number of long-term unemployed: The number of workers who have been unable to find a job in 27 months or more has shot up 83%, with their ranks now at 5.5 million.
Civilian labor force: It has shrunk by 126,000. In past recoveries, the labor force climbed an average of more than 3 million over comparable time periods.
The labor participation rate has shrunk by 3%. Household income is down 7%. Deficits and debt are way up. GDP is sluggish. Consumer spending is still down. Not mentioned is that disposable income is still very low. And
Perhaps the best measure of the success or failure of the stimulus, however, is the fact that President Obama in his latest budget plan has called for still another round of stimulus spending, this time totaling $350 billion over the next four years, for what is labeled “short-term measures for jobs growth.”
If the Stimulus had worked, there would be no need for more stimulus to fix potholes, paint bridges, and build turtle tunnels.
Happy Failure, Mr. President!
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
