Just 6 percent believe stimulus created jobs. That's crazy.
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Just 6 percent believe stimulus created jobs. That's crazy.
Earlier today, we noted the first anniversary of President Obama's economic recovery legislation. Now another stimulus item has caught our eye: An article from The Hill says that according to a recent poll, a ridiculously low number of people think the stimulus actually produced jobs.
A New York Times/CBS poll found that just 6 percent of Americans believe that it created jobs, even though independent economists estimate that it has saved or created more than 1 million jobs.
Think about that. More people believe in ghosts and UFOs (34 percent each). That's pretty astounding, especially when you consider how much money is being spent here. The total cost of the package is $787 billion, most of it borrowed from future generations. (For the record, that's enough to film Ghostbusters 26,000 times.)
Over at the conservative blog Outside the Beltway, James Joyner gleefully writes about the political implications for Obama, but ultimately doesn't see a lot of value in the results of the survey.
These sorts of polls are annoying. Most people simply have no basis for making judgments on technical matters like this; indeed, economists can only take a very educated guess. So, asking Joe Public about such matters is not very helpful.
We disagree. The public might not know much about how this sort of thing is supposed to work, but the poll speaks volumes about their confidence in the government.
This deep distrust has been a part of American politics forever, but particularly since the 1960s. People simply don't believe that government can accomplish much of anything. And that's a problem for a nation that faces so many challenges that require government action.
The fact is that many jobs have been created. That's not to say the stimulus has done enough. It hasn't. But we can't have a real debate about what to do next if so many people don't understand the basics of the situation.
Follow us on Twitter and review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Comment removed.
"The fact is that many jobs have been created". Link Ben? The fact also is many jobs have been lost over the past year, evidently much more than has been 'created' over the past year. A fact is not a fact, open to interpretations.— uandwhosearmy- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- A Partnership between the DN and WHYY, Left and Lefter. Dutiful stooges taking the DNC Talking Points to heart and going out there selling their bleeding hearts out for the Obama Administration.— tr88
Here's some good data and analysis of what nonsense this so-called stimulus does:http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZWUyM2I3MzJjNDkzMjI4OWVhODg2MDRkODE1ZTVmNTg=- Ben Waxman, just what WHYY and the DN need, a left wing blogger who dutifully passes on the DNC talking points. How many are enough?— tr88
- Comment removed.
- Ben undertand that almost 100percent believe that the press is bias in its reporting. The stimulis bill had a lot pork attached to it so its not all stimulas. It did maintained a lot jobs for our high ways rebuilding yes necessary but once work is done so is the job. The best way to stimulate the economy is reduce government spending waste and pass the savings on too the taxpayer thru tax cuts. This new money and confidence will be put back into the economy almost at 100 percent.— DennisR
- DennisR: most of the stimulus WAS tax cuts. So, if the economy hasn't recovered as fast as people would have liked...well, it was probably because we put some much money into tax cuts that did nothing to create jobs. And, for those asking for "proof" about jobs...Look around you. There are dozens and dozens of projects in the Philadelphia-area alone that have created hundreds of jobs. I'm talking about SEPTA improvements, the highway system, and other infrastructure jobs. That's what's so amazing about the poll....All of these jobs ARE being created but people just fail to see them.— benwaxman
- Benwaxman yes there were small tax cuts in the stimulas plan along with a lot of other monies for various projects. My comment was to make the tax cut the leader of the program. WE saw how the car program worked and cost the taxpayers more that the projected and really just sped up buying cars by the people intent on buying. ( stole revenue from the future)As for the other construction projects remember unions are a very small section of the workforce. People see the various costly projects and question why not put money out to benefit more not just a few.— DennisR
- Benwaxman on the tax cuts from the first stimulas that you point out to me above they put an extra $8.00 in my paycheck every two weeks. Politicans call that a tax cut but taxpayers don't.— DennisR
- Ben, how many jobs were lost in Jan2010 v. how many jobs were created in Jan2010 ? or say an arbitrary month Nov 2009 lost jobs v. Nov 2009 created jobs?— uandwhosearmy
