Obama Stimulus: 3 Years Later

5 Million Jobs Short Of White House Stimulus Claim

WHITE HOUSE REPORT: “Aggregate Effect of the Recovery Package on GDP and Jobs in 2010Q4 … With Stimulus … Payroll Employment: 137,550,000.” (Christina Romer & Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,” P.4, 1/9/09)

·         In Jan. 2012 payroll employment was 132,409,000. (U.S. Dept. Of Labor, “Employment, Hour, And Earnings From The Current Employment Statistics Survey (National),” Accessed 11/28/11)

428,000 jobs have been lost since the stimulus was signed (Feb. 2009 – Jan. 2012). (U.S. Dept. Of Labor, “Employment, Hour, And Earnings From The Current Employment Statistics Survey (National),” Accessed 11/28/11)

CBO: Unemployment ‘Will Remain Above 8 Percent Until 2014’

The unemployment rate has stood above 8% for 36 months (Feb. 2009 – Jan. 2012).  (“The Unemployment Situation – January 2012,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12) ; (BLS, Accessed 1/24/12)

·         “CBO projects that the unemployment rate will remain above 8 percent until 2014. The share of unemployed people who have been looking for work for more than six months — referred to as the long-term unemployed — topped 40 percent in December 2009 and has remained above that level ever since.” (CBO Report, 2/16/12)

OLD STIMULUS CLAIM: Unemployment Won’t Exceed 8 Percent

WHITE HOUSE REPORT: Obama officials claimed that the “unemployment rate with… the recovery plan,” would not exceed 8 percent. (Christina Romer & Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,” P.4, 1/9/09)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “It’s a plan that will save or create up to 4 million jobs over the next two years.” (President Obama, Town Hall Meeting, Fort Myers, FL, 2/10/09)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: In “18 months” stimulus will “create 3.5 million jobs … literally drop-kicks us out of this recession.” (Vice President Biden, Remarks At Recover Plan Implementation Meeting, The White House, 2/25/09)

·         BIDEN: “In my wildest dreams, I never thought it would work this well.” (“Biden On Stimulus: ‘Never Thought It Would Work This Well,’” The Wall Street Journal, 9/24/09)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “This bill creates 3.5 million jobs.” (Sen. Reid, Press Conference, 2/11/09)