The Obama administration continues to push its "jobs created and saved" theme, taking credit for up to a million jobs on account of its $787 billion economic stimulus package (roughly a quarter of which has been spent). But some in the media remain skeptical.
Politico.com announced on Oct. 30 that White House officials planned a Friday afternoon announcement for the same day claiming "at least 1 million jobs" had been saved or created.
Other news outlets, including NPR and CNN, focused on a lower White House claim the same day saying that "more than 650,000 jobs have been saved or created" under the stimulus.
The higher claim of 1 million was based on extrapolation - the White House report examined the first $150 billion of $339 billion stimulus funds spent so far.
The White House recently "fired back" at Associated Press (AP) for saying that the number of jobs created or saved was "overstated by thousands." AP reviewed data from the first progress report of the stimulus and found huge discrepancies.
"[S]ome jobs credited to the stimulus program were counted two, three, four or even more times," Brett J. Blackledge and Matt Apuzzo wrote for AP.
"The discrepancy raises questions about the reliability of a key benchmark the administration uses to gauge the success of the stimulus. The errors could be magnified Friday [Oct. 30] when a much larger round of reports is released. It is expected to show hundreds of thousands of jobs repairing public housing, building schools, repaving highways and keeping teachers on local payrolls," AP concluded.
Caroline Baum, a Bloomberg News columnist, criticized the "created or saved" fantasy being propagated by the White House.
Baum called the phrase a "made-up metric if there ever was one." She quoted Bill Dunkelberg of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) who said, "Government job creation is an oxymoron" because it merely takes money away from the private sector's ability to hire.
Even CBS was skeptical on Oct. 29 when Chip Reid told Katie Couric, "if the administration`s first effort at counting stimulus jobs is any guide, tomorrow`s numbers could be hard to believe." (See fellow Newsbuster Noel Sheppard's post)
It's about time the networks acquired some skepticism. Many have let the administration get away with using such a fictional metric for months now. On May 28, NBC "Nightly News" spotlighted a stimulus-funded project that "saved or created" jobs and brought "hope" to a Missouri town. ABC repeated White House claims of saving or creating jobs on May 11 and again May 13.
Even before Obama was president, the media were reluctant to call him out for his vacillating job numbers, which climbed from 2.5 million to 3 million and then to 4.1 million.
—Julia A. Seymour is an assistant editor for the Business & Media Institute.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Pulling numbers out of thin
October 30, 2009 - 12:20 ET by notonmywatchPulling numbers out of thin air to benefit your position - it's the democrat way.
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Presstitutes
October 30, 2009 - 12:29 ET by Thinking.ManYeah, and the prestitutes are right their helping them out every step of the way.
Only upside to any of this is that soon ABC etc. will be to big to fail, forced to take money, then the salaries will be set by B-Daddy and they will be forcibly unionized to boot.
These idiots in the press dont even have any self interest instincts, they think the ride will last for ever, sure B-Daddy hates capitalism and whitey, but he wont change our lifestyles.
Dream on presstitues, dream on.
Why not?
October 30, 2009 - 12:32 ET by Patriot IIThese wingnuts announce any other lie they can come up with, why not this one?
Pulling numbers out of thin air
October 30, 2009 - 12:38 ET by vrwc13...naw, they pull them from out of here...
v
Interesting enough, when you die you are not dead, check the Owners Manual…
When there are no
October 30, 2009 - 13:48 ET by GregEWhen there are no principles, whatever works is utilized. When it won't work, it won't be used. Principles are no factor.
Let's do some math...
October 30, 2009 - 12:32 ET by vrwc13The Obama administration continues to push its "jobs created and saved" theme, taking credit for up to a million jobs on account of its $787 billion economic stimulus package (roughly a quarter of which has been spent).
...so if 1/4 of $787 billion has been spent = $196,750,000,000
...and one million jobs added
...196,750,000,000 / 1,000,000 = $196,750 per job!
I would say that's almost 4 years pay for the average American...why not just give them the money!
v
Interesting enough, when you die you are not dead, check the Owners Manual…
Oops
October 30, 2009 - 12:42 ET by Thinking.ManPosted same time as you did, but I suppose if the numbers were real and the average job is 36K I wonder where all the excess went?
They are just robbing us blind, and here the Tennants of the US sit and take it, and take it, and take it.
50/50
October 30, 2009 - 13:08 ET by vrwc13...well let's look at it this way....
If the government spends 50% of the money on overhead to administer the job, that leaves 50% or $100,000.
Now offer any company $100,000 to hire someone and what do you think their response would be?
Remember the money is to 'create' jobs, not pay the salary!
v
...an error was made in 2008
When the majority decides to
October 30, 2009 - 13:52 ET by GregEWhen the majority decides to just take whatever is thrust upon them, those in government let out a great sigh of relief, begin the onslaught, and the world loses it's lone shining city on the hill.
Under this administration if
October 30, 2009 - 12:37 ET by MaratUnder this administration if you do not work for the Feds and you still have a job it falls under "Jobs saved!"
The Great Obama has saved
October 30, 2009 - 13:53 ET by GregEThe Great Obama has saved 90.2% of all jobs in the nation.
Working for the Government is called ...
October 31, 2009 - 09:49 ET by CO2Maker... the Public Option.
What we all want--and what is ours by right--is a job for everyone ... or at least an income, whether it involves working or not. That is why you must get a job and be taxed, so the Public Option can be there to make sure people who don't want to work get an income, too.
Does anyone ever think about what they are saying?
October 30, 2009 - 12:40 ET by Thinking.Man1/4 of a 798 Billion and 1M jobs = about 196K per person so far, or a cost of 392K per anum to create temporary jobs for the most part (if you buy the million number which is complete fabrication)
Do the numbers anyway you like, they are either stealing us blind or overpaying for yard work.
Tell you what, I will create 2 Million jobs of similar quality for the same money
Ok, I'm no Mathematician but...
October 30, 2009 - 12:42 ET by MightyMouthLet's do the numbers, shall we?:
So Obama lost 2.5 million jobs in 9 months
AND he "saved(LOL!) or created" 1 million jobs...so thats 1 million minus 2.5 million leaving a negative 1.5 million jobs right? (Please check my math).
So the Administration is going to say he has only lost 1.5 million jobs right?
"The bureaucracy is growing to meet the needs of the growing bureaucracy"
Almost but not quite...
October 30, 2009 - 13:36 ET by c5thenThey are going to say that without the Obamulus monstrosity there would have been an additional 1 million out of work. Instead of having lost 2.5 million we would have been at 3.5 million.
And it would have been all Bush's fault.
Throw 'da bums out!!!
Before it's too late.
www.loyaltoliberty.com
Bush's fault
October 30, 2009 - 13:43 ET by SouthJersey1953No. The 2.5 million lost were lost because of Bush.
The 1 million saved (or created) was due to HIM and only him. See the difference? You cannot subtract Democrat numbers from Republican numbers because they aren't the same thing.
BTW - what he is not telling you is that "jobs created" means "additional people on welfare" (because we know that most do not want the work, they just want the money)
You can fix a lot of things, but, you can't fix STUPID! - Joe Murray
Since truth takes a back
October 30, 2009 - 12:46 ET by Chris NormanSince truth takes a back seat to poltics anyway, why don't they just announce the Six Hundred Obamamillion jobs have been created?
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
That might be a stretch Chris
October 30, 2009 - 12:50 ET by MightyMouthThat would mean every man woman and democrat in the country has two jobs!
"The bureaucracy is growing to meet the needs of the growing bureaucracy"
MM,
October 30, 2009 - 13:01 ET by Chris NormanHey, we've got jobs coming out of our ears! They're piling up on the floor! Someone turn off Obama's job making machine!
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
I bet that Obama will claim at the end of his term
October 30, 2009 - 13:33 ET by c5thenThat he has "created or saved" over 1 trillion jobs.
Throw 'da bums out!!!
Before it's too late.
www.loyaltoliberty.com
Actually
October 30, 2009 - 13:43 ET by RukusI don't really think this administration would lie, much less about the number of jo, uh, crap! My sarc-o-meter just blew a gasket! ; )
Gary
POLITICS: poly (many) + ticks (blood sucking parasites)
Rukus
October 30, 2009 - 16:38 ET by NorthCoasterAs a politician, I resemble that.....I'm not really a tick but I love the definition, because there are way too many sucking at the public trough.
LOL!
October 30, 2009 - 18:20 ET by RukusI can't even remember where I got that from. You're a pol? My condolences! j/k! : )
See new tag.
Gary
POLITICS: poly (many) + ticks (blood sucking parasites) Except NorthCoaster!
Numbers mean nothing...
October 30, 2009 - 13:51 ET by shooterSince there is no way to accurately quantify the numbers, they mean nothing. Too bad that fact will be lost on the fawning State Run Media (formerly the Main Stream Media) and the "Peggy Joseph" electorate.
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"An armed society is a polite society" -- Robert A. Heinlein
Americans, in droves,
October 30, 2009 - 14:01 ET by GregEAmericans, in droves, believe it all.
I had an email discussion with an Obamanite today, who, when in my telling her that govt destroys jobs, doesn't create them, and destroys wealth, doesn't create it, and asked where does she think the salary money comes from, thin air?.............The response, as if there is any equivalence (because she's sadly clueless), was "who pays the salaries of places you shop, like Walmart, McDonald's, etc???"
There is no reply that I could ever make, that could possibly fix that asinine mindset. Sadly, there are millions of minds out there that would say the same as she did.
Our schools are failing our nation. There is nothing taught in schools that would debunk this stupid thinking early and once and for all, so it's left to develop on it's own, by getting its info from other equally stupid minds.
That's an easy one to answer.
October 30, 2009 - 14:21 ET by Willis_Leon_Johnsonwho pays the salaries of places you shop, like Walmart, McDonald's, etc???"
I do when I make a purchase from money I EARNED, Wal-Mart makes a gross profit.
From that gross profit, they pay for the item I purchased (cost of goods), pay their utilities and building expenses (overhead), pay their employees at all levels (cost of labor), pay the taxes on their employees (Social security, fica, state and local taxes, etc), pay their corporate taxes, AND divide up what is left to their stockholders (Owners of the company).
MY PURCHASE CREATES JOBS.
Your sucking at the government teat takes money OUT of the system and COSTS jobs because the person that EARNED the money no longer has it in his pocket to spend.
And the people sucking at that government teat includes EVERY government job holder, politician, judge, law enforcement, manual labor on the road crews, as well as the tax cheat like geithner and friends, AND those too lazy to get off their butts and find a job that doesn't exist because taxes are too high and wasted on garbage like most government programs.
Governments DO NOT CREATE, or save(?) jobs.
They suck the life out of the job creation business.
The only way to 'save' a job is to not raise taxes.
The only way a government can 'create' a job is to cut taxes and leave the money where it belongs. In the taxpayers pocket.
http://gjresult.com
crap, I meant to
October 30, 2009 - 20:44 ET by GregEcrap, I meant to say...
"....and asked where does she think the salary for govt employees comes from, thin air? ...."
She was attempting to equate govt jobs with private sector jobs. She's self employed and still doesn't get it.
There's a little known
October 30, 2009 - 14:52 ET by KJ_sezThere's a little known secret in statistics, and that is that 79.8352% of all statistics are made up on the spot. This statistic is one that is part of the 20.1648% that is fully researched and completely true. No, really...
I think 'saving' a million jobs isn't enough - why don't they just say it was four million? That looks much more impressive, and it's easier to sell a big lie than a bunch of small ones (like 1mil jobs saved, 350k jobs created, unemployment won't go over 8%, we believe in capitalism, and we'll fully investigate and prosecute any House or Senate Dimmicrat for ethics violations, health care won't cost anything and doesn't have any limits on services, crap and tax will create new jobs, the check's in the mail, I love you, I won't ... .. .... .....).
We are at war with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eurasia. War is Peace! Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength!
OBAMA = One Big Ass Mistake, America!
I saved a job yesterday
October 30, 2009 - 15:03 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonI insisted on paper bags and saved a lumberjacks job.
oh... I also saved a job at a sawmill, and one in a pulp mill, and another in the paper plant, and another in thetrucking industry to haul the roll of paper to the paper bag plant, and another one at the paper bag plant, and another truckdriver to haul it to the distributors warehouse, and the forklift operator, and the salesman, and the shipping clerk, and the grocery store buyer, and another truckdriver, and another forklift operator, and another warehouse person, and a stocking clerk to put the bags on the checkstands, and a garbage truck driver and helper, and some person running the landfill, and.....
Missing from the list are all the people that made the chainsaws, produced the oil, refined it to gas an oil, built the trucks and forklifts, made the parts to keep the equipment running, etc.
And I did all that without government interference!
Now obama, HOW did you 'save' any jobs?
http://gjresult.com
Willis
October 30, 2009 - 16:47 ET by NorthCoasterLet me count the jobs that you are adding using Obmamath.
1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+n=whatever number you want it to be. Where n=the fudge factor number to get there.
Wow, this Obamamath is great, you can create any number you want to fit any purpose, just by adjusting n.
So, if I adjust n to equal
October 30, 2009 - 17:54 ET by Willis_Leon_Johnson35 million, then I saved 35,000,018 jobs yesterday?
HEY! I'm good at 'saving' jobs.
http://gjresult.com
Heck yea, there are
October 30, 2009 - 20:46 ET by GregEHeck yea, there are thousands of businesses that I did not go to yesterday and burn down, therefore I saved all of those jobs by my inaction.
It's good to see
October 31, 2009 - 11:07 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonPRIVATE CITIZENS come forth in our hour of need and help their fellow man by saving their jobs.
http://gjresult.com
And when Obama said...
October 30, 2009 - 17:59 ET by MightyMouth...our taxes would not be raised by "one dime", he didn't lie because what he meant was "it will be raised by n times one dime". Probably several thousand dimes!
"The bureaucracy is growing to meet the needs of the growing bureaucracy"
NC
October 30, 2009 - 20:38 ET by DoktorFrankenYou're way too complex on this math thingy. Numbers for this administration come directly from the largest repository in the White House. That's right - Michelle's bootay.
JMHO, you understand.
If Saul Alinsky owned a news channel it would be MSNBC. ---- Me
By using that paper bag,
October 30, 2009 - 18:56 ET by ThisnThatBy using that paper bag, you also saved the jobs of:
The enviornmentalist, who wants to object.
The protester(s) -- professional, of course
Bus drivers, driving the professional protesters to your house
The MSM reporters, on-the-spot recording your evil deeds
Professional sign-makers because one can't protest without "home-made" signs
Cops on the beat, protecting the protesters from right-wing extremists
Lawyers, whom you will hear from soonest, and
More garbage truck drivers and helpers, there to clean up the environment after the "environmentalists" leave.
__________
"mmm, mmm, mm. Barrack-Hussain-Øbama↓." - The liberals coolaid drinking song
I was at a political rally the other day
October 31, 2009 - 10:27 ET by CO2MakerAnd an incumbent Democrat was standing at the front, on the platform, with a microphone in one hand and holding his other hand up high toward the sky, and he was saying, "Has your job been saved?" (Actually, he pronounced it "saaay-yevved.")
And he walked back and forth and say, "Praise the Almighty. Thank you for bring us our Barack" (he say "Buuh-rock") "in these hard times. Thank you for Nancy" ("Nan-suh") "and Harry" ("hair-ruh").
Then he said, "If your job has been saaaay-yevved, come on down and tell us your story!" These two federal employees came forward and told of how their jobs were saaay-yevved when the stimulus package was passed, even though they weren't in danger of being fired (because the Federal government is too big to fail).
Two teenagers came up and said that their friend got a good job at the new minimum wage, so his new job had been saaay-yevved, but they were still waiting to get their jobs, so they could be saay-yevved, too. Only, the employer told them he was going to wait until his business picked up so he could hire more teenagers.
In August the city told me
October 30, 2009 - 15:02 ET by Dan The Man 2In August the city told me that they would no longer need my services as of September 30 2009; they chopped my position and me. So the City of Dallas elininated 850 positions with warm bodies in them and I was one of them, but through stimulous money they created about 500 or so positions. So the city reported those being created and my friends that is how Sh** works.
Robert Gibbs at White House Press Briefing Today
October 30, 2009 - 15:04 ET by BondPlainBondHis attempt to answer Major Garrett's (Fox News) question about how the Obama "saved or created" job numbers fit into the spike in the economy's growth was hilarious.
Gibbs didn't know if he was coming or going and Garrett, cool as a cucumber, kept asking how, how, how... and it doesn't seem to make sense, please explain...
Gibbs just couldn't find a reason, so, red-faced and beyond frustrated and confused, Gibbs blurted out, "Is the economy growing or not?"
OMO! This White House is in deep, deep kimchi.
And it seems everyone knows it but them!
Paranoia and desperation - the hallmarks of the Obama Administration.
||:: I didn't leave the Republican Party; the Republican Party left me. ::||
BPB... What really made
October 30, 2009 - 15:56 ET by bigtimerBPB...
What really made me angry and laugh at the same time was Gibbs saying at the end of his back and forth with Garrett was it was time to bring out the blackboard etc.
His silly smile and giggles are enough to make anyone laugh.
He doesn't know how dumb he is...he really doesn't.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
Liar, liar
October 30, 2009 - 15:51 ET by TomoramaThis lying cowards numbers remind me of the "Nobody making less than $500,00 will receive a tax increase, errrrrr, 350,000, nope, nope 250, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh 200,000, nope, nope I was misquoted, 200, Joe Biden 175,000 and then it leveled back on 250,000 once the POLLING WAS COMPLETED.
"Faux news" misquoted us.
Anyone else notice that they LIED about this as well?
A great man once said, YOU only get out of life what YOU put into it, he obviously wasn't a liberal.
Did you expect anything less
October 30, 2009 - 16:53 ET by Dan The Man 2Did you expect anything less than a lie?
White House Job Numbers
October 30, 2009 - 16:31 ET by NorthCoasterHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
This is a joke, right, for Holloween?
OH, so it's not a "lets pretend" fanatsy? Just made up out of thin air. I wonder where all of the jobs are, because they certainly aren't in Ohio or Michigan and an unfortunate number of prople voted for the "O" here.
Jobs "saved"
October 30, 2009 - 19:01 ET by ThisnThatIf Bush had said "saved jobs", anyone think the MSM would roll over and accept this as a resonable argument?
Then why do they do this with obama? Is the MSM so in the tank, or have they suddenly become as dumb as a bag of rocks overnight?
__________
"mmm, mmm, mm. Barrack-Hussain-Øbama↓." - The liberals coolaid drinking song
I've heard that Michelle has an unusually large . . .
October 30, 2009 - 20:34 ET by DoktorFrankenI've heard that Michelle has an unusually large staff of assistants and such, but 1 million? Surely, the rest of the administration's top folks are padding their staff to inflate this number.
JMHO, you understand.
If Saul Alinsky owned a news channel it would be MSNBC. ---- Me
"On May 28, NBC "Nightly
October 30, 2009 - 23:53 ET by ckc1227"On May 28, NBC "Nightly News"
spotlighted a stimulus-funded project that "saved or created" jobs and
brought "hope" to a Missouri town. ABC repeated White House claims of
saving or creating jobs on May 11 and again May 13."
It's almost like the White House is writing their material for them.
It's easy to save things the Obama way
October 31, 2009 - 00:31 ET by lgeubankI saved my dog from choking to death yesterday. I didn't give him some chicken bones.
But I still don't know how Obama knows he saved all those jobs. When you lose hundreds of thousands, how can you tell which thousand you "saved"?
In make-believe, anything
October 31, 2009 - 00:57 ET by ckc1227In make-believe, anything is possible.
The
October 31, 2009 - 10:17 ET by jessieHThe only saved jobs is their own, so far. The real job savers are the small businesses. The govt. has screwed everything up. This is just more dribble from washington. I could have created more jobs for less money.
CRAP!
October 31, 2009 - 10:21 ET by Patriot III can "announce" I found a million dollar gold mine in my back yard......not true, but I can "announce" it......wake up America!!!
I know they won't admit it
October 31, 2009 - 10:55 ET by StarAZThe only way to rebuild this economy and start adding real jobs, instead of continuing to pay teachers budgeted anyhow, is to fluff up capitalism and make it worthwhile to invent, build, adapt, improve, throw up factories, hire people--stand tall! Nah--they won't.
When Fiction Lags Reality!!!
October 31, 2009 - 11:03 ET by ACLUSUXThis "govt" judges itself by a comprehensive array of delusional metrics. These are not simple misstatements. They are intentional fabrications. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. $166,000 to "create a job”….are you not shocked. “Jobs created or saved.” “Unemployment may get better, but were planning on extending jobless benefits.” “Cash for Clunkers @ $24,000 per car” And the list goes on. Just take a govt estimate on cost and triple it…you’ll be correct.
Basically, this arrogant and unapologetic administration thinks Americans are stupid drones that find nothing alarming about this mess. This is a power grab. Give them money so we can have control. Healthcare, Education and Energy….all on the table now. Auto’s and Banks came too easy. The most troubling part is that this totally transparent and destructive agenda is being bought by our blind/ weak-knead media. When will it end?
Biden says we are just beginning to experience the effects of the stimulus. That’s a scary proposition given that fact that they have not spent all of it.
They KILLED or MURDERED 9 jobs
October 31, 2009 - 11:15 ET by Willis_Leon_Johnsonin order to collect(steal) that $166,000 to 'create' a job.
http://gjresult.com
Saved his friends
October 31, 2009 - 15:17 ET by ghblogI guess if you count all of the czars and their staff he probably saved jobs. The folks that support him cannot do math anyway so it's all good.
2010 - We take it all back!