printAs someone once observed, “They All Lie For Someone.” The Associated Press finally stopped bowing and scraping to The Celestial One, got off its collective duff and did some digging. Note how the NPR begins the report from the White House’s defensive retort, rather than with the meat of the news item. (Bad reporting or a meta-message about what matters?)
“The AP reviewed a sample of federal contracts, not all 9,000 reported to date, and discovered errors in one in six jobs credited to the $787 billion stimulus program — or 5,000 of the 30,000 jobs claimed so far.
Even in its limited review, the AP found job counts that were more than 10 times as high as the actual number of paid positions; jobs credited to the stimulus program that were counted two and sometimes more than four times; and other jobs that were credited to stimulus spending when none was produced.”
More.
If we are to believe the most pessimistic report, this being it, $787 billion was paid in order to create 30,000 minus 5000 jobs. Of course, we know it’s far grimmer than that, as,
Haven’t you heard? The recession in the US is officially over as the GDP grew at an annualized 3.5% in the third quarter! This is all legitimate growth and has nothing to do with government scams that bribe people to buy new cars. “Clunkers,” or as they used to be known “used cars” are to be traded in and DESTROYED for new ones, at the mere cost to the tax payers of $24,000 per car. Of course this is just taking tomorrow’s car sales and counting them as today’s. What is really sad is that cash-for-clunkers is probably the most benign of Obama’s “stimulus” programs. Just wait until we hear about all the “green jobs” that will be created by cap and trade.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/28/autos/clunkers_analysis/index.htm
Rothbard said (boldly) all government spending is consumption but I would assume that accidental investment happens sometimes. Yea, let’s have accidental progress (assuming the accidental investment outweighs the consumption).
Keynes ideas just won’t stay dead (zombie economics). Someone get a wooden stake! [Re cuts: Letters with threats are not published. No “should be executed” threats on this blog! Please read Posting Policy.]
“[Re cuts: Letter with threats are not published. No “should be executed” threats on this blog! Please read Posting Policy.]” Ilana Mercer
Well since Keynes is safely dead, I don’t see how any but the most humorless could take me seriously. Still, economists are way up there when it comes to body counts.
[Dig taken, but ya know what I mean, “Moon.” You’ve made comments like, “I’ll take out a few of them before they get me.” It’s not that I condemn your thoughts, but the policy is not to post anything that can be construed as a threat. It’s for the good of all.]
Well, the good news is that we are creating lots of jobs – in Afghanistan.
The GDP is estimated as 11 – 21 Billion
(Wikipedia) but US spending is around 100 Billion over there. If 5% of 10% of it gets siphoned off to the insurgents, it basically can fund the entire country. Isn’t that peachy.
Oh yes, I forgot to say, I will be good from now on. I’ll give em hell but it will “holy” hell.