The Stimulus Didn't Work! Government transfers, rebates have not increased consumption at all.

Despite Obama's claims that the stimulus program has created jobs and increased consumer spending, his own Treasury documents show otherwise. The report which estimates these results also warns that the numbers are nothing more than mere guesses!

The Council of Economic Advisers released its first quarterly report on the economic impact of the stimulus. The headlines seized on a single number in the report: one million, the council’s estimate of how many jobs the stimulus had created or saved. But how solid is that number?

According to the report itself, not very. “Any estimates of the impact of the ARRA at this early stage must be regarded as preliminary,” noted the report, “and understood to be subject to substantial uncertainty.”

www.propublica.org...

Recent analysis from different points of view shows the true truth to be otherwise.

Is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 working? At the time of the act's passage last February, this question was hotly debated. Administration economists cited Keynesian models that predicted that the $787 billion stimulus package would increase GDP by enough to create 3.6 million jobs. Our own research showed that more modern macroeconomic models predicted only one-sixth of that GDP impact. Estimates by economist Robert Barro of Harvard predicted the impact would not be significantly different from zero.

Now, six months after the act's passage, we no longer have to rely solely on the predictions of models. We can look and see what actually happened.

The data available so far tell us that the government transfers and rebates have not stimulated consumption at all, and that the resilience of the private sector following the fall 2008 panic not the fiscal stimulus program deserves the lion's share of the credit for improvement from the first to the second quarter.

online.wsj.com...

Gallup Economic Monthly: Job Creation Not Happening
"Job creation, consumer spending are both down more than 30% from year-ago"

Gallup Daily economic data aggregated on a monthly basis show that job creation in August is just not taking place in the U.S. economy. While Gallup data for the month also show a slight moderation in job loss, this is not sufficient to take up the slack for a 35% decline in the rate of job creation compared to a year ago.

And, while confidence in the future direction of the U.S. economy is at its highest level in 20 months, Gallup data also show a continued delinking of consumer spending -- which is down 33% from a year ago.

www.gallup.com...

So, what did we get for our $787 billion dollars? The honest answer? Not much.

jw

[edit on 16-9-2009 by jdub297]

So, what did we get for our $787 billion dollars? The honest answer? Not much.

uh, that money wasnt for us (citizens), I hope people realize this.
It was for the bankers. Have foreclosures gone down? No, employment gone up? NO.

Is this really breaking news ??? more like common sense, I could of told you the stimulus wouldn't help even before they went through.

Thanks for the digging and number crunching dub, S&F!!!
The Federal Gov't is apparently dead-set on doing that which only serves to complicate things. We need to get some economists in there writing policy!!!!

As for the previous poster who said "i could've told you this before the deed went down", stop being a negative Nelly. The OP clearly spent some time and effort on this, at least be appreciative that it's not another "Chupacabra" thread. Most of us are quite aware that these stimulus and bailout plans weren't going to do a damn bit of good, but that doesn't mean that it's not important to keep up to date on the goings-on with this topic.

reply to post by crw2006

uh, that money wasnt for us (citizens), I hope people realize this.
It was for the bankers. Have foreclosures gone down? No, employment gone up? NO.

What's really pissing me off is how Obama keeps insisting it's true, and how the MSM repeats the lies! Even when the Economic Advisors themselves say "don't trust these numbers." (You have to ask, "If the numbers are no good, why publish them?" The obvious answer: So Obama can quote them.)

How gullible do they think Americans are?

Nevermind. Don't answer that.

jw

reply to post by IntastellaBurst

I could of told you the stimulus wouldn't help even before they went through.

But what do you do about the Obamite true believers who've seized on this and say: "See, it's in the paper; it's on TV, so it must be true"?

Not much hope for them. But I think the ranks are thinning.

jw

reply to post by mpriebe81

Most of us are quite aware that these stimulus and bailout plans weren't going to do a damn bit of good ... .

Wow. You give people a lot more credit than I would. Whether the general public, or the ATS membership, I'd be inclined to think that there're still a LOT of diehards who will not see that the Emperor has no clothes.

jw