Posted on 07/15/2009 5:50:12 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
The economy has gotten worse than the Obama administration had predicted it would be even if Congress had spent nothing on “fiscal stimulus.” Although some are arguing that this gap is proof that more stimulus is needed, it really shows that the cost of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — and laws like it — far exceed their benefits in the form of economic stimulus.
The Obama administration had said that the stimulus bill would “save or create” 3.5 million jobs while adding $787 billion to the federal budget. Admittedly, some of this money went to taxpayers and to some worthwhile public works, but it also created additional economic burdens in the process of collecting the taxes and issuing the debt to pay for it. To an order of magnitude, the promise of those 3.5 million jobs cost a quarter of a million dollars per job promised.
If instead the fiscal stimulus “save or created” just one million jobs, that doesn’t mean that the stimulus should have been 350 percent bigger. Rather, it means that each job promised cost almost $1 million each!
Congress needs to ask the stimulus advocates why just one job promised is worth hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, and why they are so sure that the promised jobs will turn into actual ones.
Even better, they should consider turning off the first stimulus before more tax dollars are wasted.
(Excerpt) Read more at economix.blogs.nytimes.com ...
I would just love to have seen Paul Krugman’s reaction to this column.
Now they’ll try to scurry away. Roaches usually do when the light, in this case truth and reality, is turned on. Where will the money come from to pay for these “saved” government related jobs come from for next year as tax revenues continue, on all l;evels to decline? Morons is too generous a term.
I don’t know, but I do not remember him touting about “saving” 150K while OVER 2 MILLION were added to the unemployment roles! I am just saying!
guess this means Krugman is on the ledge outside of Pinch’s office?
My sentiments exactly.
The extended booing at last night’s MLB All-Star game was a more accurate barometer of Zero’s approval raing.
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