Just two months after the Congress and the White House collaborated to pass a $787-billion stimulus bill into law, its proponents are hailing it as a victory and one network has played along.
The May 11 broadcast of ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" cited a report from the President's Council of Economic Advisors claiming the stimulus would "save or create"1.5 million jobs by the end of 2009.
"Meanwhile, a new report estimates the economic stimulus bill passed earlier this year will save or create one-and-a-half million jobs this year," Gibson said.
The problem - the jobs weren't targeted where most needed.
"But an Associated Press survey indicates few of those jobs will be created in communities with the highest unemployment rates," Gibson said.
However, there's also a problem with the Obama administration's math according to a May 11 post on the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) blog titled "1.9 Million Jobs Lost Under Obama - No Matter How You Slice it."
"The U.S. has lost at least 1.9 million jobs since President Barack Obama took office. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the total number of jobs nationwide fell from 134.3 million at the end of January to 132.4 million at the end of April," ATR's John Kartch wrote. "Meanwhile, Obama and his economic advisors have resorted to the invention of highly questionable new metrics such as the number of "saved" jobs and - making its debut today -- the number of ‘job-years' created."
Kartch's post also pointed out the Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, debunked the concept of a "saved" job in a March 4 hearing that featured testimony from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
"You created a situation where you cannot be wrong," Baucus said. "If the economy loses 2 million jobs over the next few years, you can say yes, but it would've lost 5.5 million jobs. If we create a million jobs, you can say, well, it would have lost 2.5 million jobs. You've given yourself complete leverage where you cannot be wrong, because you can take any scenario and make yourself look correct."
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States Continue To Lose Jobs
May 12, 2009 - 14:19 ET by JDWHow will the House vote on the next stimulus?
JDW
DAILY WAVE
When people fear their government there is tyranny.
When government fears the people there is liberty.
Gibson and economics
May 12, 2009 - 14:20 ET by east tennessee johnSo the Council of Economic Advisors said Comrade O's plan is goin to save or create 1.5 million jobs. Did Good Old Charlie EVER report that the Republican alternative to the $787 billion behemoth USING THE SAME ECONOMETRIC MODEL OF THE CEA WOULD HAVE CREATED TWICE THE NUMBER OF JOBS AT HALF, THAT'S HALF,THE COST. If he ever did I sure as hell missed it.
"You created a situation
May 12, 2009 - 14:24 ET by Dan The Man 2"You created a situation where you cannot be wrong," Baucus said. "If the economy loses 2 million jobs over the next few years, you can say yes, but it would've lost 5.5 million jobs. If we create a million jobs, you can say, well, it would have lost 2.5 million jobs. You've given yourself complete leverage where you cannot be wrong, because you can take any scenario and make yourself look correct
And the beat goes on ... and the new boss is the old boss ... and the more things change the more they stay the same. No matter how you package it Dem's will always come up smelling; and what they smell like depends on where you sit.
Obama is being modest
May 12, 2009 - 14:40 ET by beauxdogYou guys are so cynical.
Here is the straight stuff. Even though the article clearly states that we have 134 million jobs in the US, we all know that really, everybody has a job. The babes are responsible for generating coos and nuclear waste. The old folks are responsible for generating wild tales and nuclear waste. That means that all 300 million of us are employed in one way or another.
I have read articles that say we have lost 6 million jobs over the course of the economic crisis.
That means:
300 Million
- 6 Million
------------------
294 Million
Obama has SAVED 294 Million jobs. He currently is only claiming he saved a few million. How modest can he be? Give the man credit he deserves.
Thank you.
Yo, dude...waaay more modest
May 12, 2009 - 14:43 ET by BlondeLast I saw, he claimed only 150,000. At a mere cost of about 4 million per.
He's modest, our Bamster. Very, very modest.
I hope he fails, too.
"save, or create" so many jobs
May 12, 2009 - 14:40 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonBut, in the process of saving or creating all those pretend jobs, obama is actively destroying 16 million jobs deliberately to destroy the middle class and make those people dependant on the government and its minions.
http://gjresult.com
as long as 4 million people are still working
May 12, 2009 - 14:47 ET by katainkenthe's done his job.
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Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past - George Orwell - 1984
Posing
May 12, 2009 - 14:47 ET by KC MulvilleLast fall, Megyn Kelly of FoxNews interviewed Bill Burton, a flack from the Obama camp. Burton's behavior was so rude that it became an item for NewsBusters. Burton didn't want to face any actual questions, so he just started talking and kept going. No matter how much Kelly tried to get a question in, Burton just rambled along. After that conversation, someone mentioned that this wasn't just Burton's rudeness. It was a debating tactic. Apparently, Lawrence Tribe (the noted legal scholar) taught debaters to simply rattle off as many points as possible in the time available, on the assumption that any points unanswered would be counted as "victories."
Obama and his team have been showing the same tactic in office. They just rattle off whatever words get them through the night, and truth be damned. All that matters to them is the appearance of answering the question. It's all pose. It's all image without substance.
I wonder if this bit of
May 13, 2009 - 04:22 ET by RR GOPI wonder if this bit of Hope and Change matters to those who have and will lose their jobs?
If they voted for The One, then probably yes.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).