Obama Team: Stimulus Saved, Created 3.6 Million Jobs
Vice president Joe Biden shares a laugh with Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer, Wednesday, July 14, 2010. Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP hide caption
The Obama Administration keeps trying to sell its position that the economy has benefited significantly from the economic stimulus even though public opinion polls continue to show that many Americans aren't buying it.
On Wednesday, the White House Council of Economic Advisers issued its latest report, its fourth, on the positive impacts coming from the stimulus. Among its headlines:
- The administration said 3.6 million jobs were saved or created through the second quarter of 2010, beating President Barack Obama's stated goal by six months.
- $100 billion of the $787 billion stimulus has been leveraged by private funds, expanding the amount invested into the economy.
- Outlays on public-investment projects like highway reconstruction increased by more than 50 percent between the first and second quarters. By June's end about two-thirds of the $319 billion in public investment funds in the stimulus had specific projects attached to them.
All this led Christina Romer, the CEA chair, to say:
And I hope that people will have a chance to read it, because it really does tell a wonderful story of how well-designed and well-implemented policy can not only put people back to work but can helpto energize private investment.
Congressional Republicans didn't share Romer's enthusiasm for what she called a "wonderful story." In a statement, Rep. John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, labeled the administration document "Washington spin" and "fuzzy math."
His statement:
“No amount of Washington spin or fuzzy math can change the fact that the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ is failing by the Obama Administration’s own standards. The writing is on the wall for the president’s ‘stimulus’ policies and everyone – taxpayers, economists, and the rest of the world – sees it but him. The American people have had enough of Washington Democrats’ job-killing spending spree and want better solutions, which is what Republicans are offering.” (Editor's note: emphasis deleted.)