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Spinning the ‘stimulus’ plan’s effect
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It should come as no surprise that when politicians declare that they have the “solution” to a problem, that they’ll try to claim their solution is working. And the new administration is no different in that regard than any of its predecessors.
Take the latest from Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood for example. LaHood told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today that the spending his department had done with the stimulus money has been very beneficial.
Of the 48 billion the department received under the stimulus plan, only 9 billion has been disbursed, to 263 projects in 30 states. That’s about $34 million per project.
LaHood then said that those 263 projects had spawned 1,250 jobs. That’s about 5 jobs per project. You can divide 34 million by 5 to see how much each of those jobs cost (about $6.8 million each). It is a staggering sum to pay for job creation and a sum no business in its right mind would pay and expect to stay in business for long. Yet government brags about it.
9 billion dollars to create 1,250 jobs. And, relatively speaking, that’s the good news. The bad news is 39 billion of the “stimulus” money remains unspent. At best, that makes it suspect as “stimulus” money. If what the Department has done to this point is considered to be a success, we can expect to see Sec. LaHood back on Capitol Hill bragging about using the remaining 39 billion to create an additional 5,450 jobs at a time we’re losing them 600,000 at a time.
This makes no sense. When government is creating .002 of the jobs we’re losing each month at $6.8 million a pop, that’s nothing to brag about nor is it having an overall stimulative effect.
Instead, if government is willing to spend 48 billion to create jobs, why not do it in the form of tax credits to businesses which will provide an incentive to invest and expand and thereby create many more jobs at a much lower cost per job?
That would be much more effective, provide more jobs on a much more permanent basis and effect the real engine of the economy the most – small businesses.
When assessing any government plan, ignore the happy talk and always do the numbers. They don’t lie, and in this case, they point to a colossally inefficient waste of your tax money. Politicians, on the other hand, will always spin even the most disastrous policies to their favor.
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