Is The Economic Stimulus Working?

Just over a year ago, Congress approved a $787 billion economic stimulus package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In remarks at the White House this morning, President Obama assessed its efficacy thus far. He said that, "largely thanks to the recovery act," "a second depression is no longer a possibility."

Millions of jobs had already been lost to the recession before I was sworn into office. Another 800,000 would be lost in the month of January. We'd later learn that our economy had shrunk by an astounding 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009, and economists from across the political spectrum warned that if dramatic action was not taken to break the back of the recession, the United States could spiral into another depression.

The president acknowledged that the stimulus "wasn't a politically easy decision." But, he said, "we acted because we had a larger responsibility than simply winning the next election. We had a responsibility to do what was right for the U.S. economy and for the American people."