The meme of the President’s 2008 campaign has now become a policy with regards to counting “stimulus” jobs. Reports of exaggeration and dishonesty are rampant in the reporting of employment supposedly affected by the $787 billion measure, but that’s not even the whole story – projects that haven’t started or aren’t even scheduled to begin are being counted as “saving or creating” jobs. Americans who would very much like to get back to work would surely disagree with this assesment - hoping for a paycheck is not the same as having one in your hand. The examples are varied:
- In Wisconsin: In one case, the newspaper found that a $7.3 million sewer replacement project in rural Douglas County reported 50 jobs created or saved even though work hadn't started and no money had flowed.
- From Massachusetts: The Greater Lawrence Family Health Center reported 30 construction jobs “have been created,’’ even though it hadn’t begun construction on a $1.5 million renovation and expansion. Grant administrator Beth Melnikas said the health center does expect to hire 30 workers.
While “hope” may have been a creative campaigning device, it is not an appropriate metric for measuring the fantastical claims of job creation, Mr. President. With 10% unemployment and a health care bill looming that could cost the country more jobs, it looks like Americans will be left waiting to see the “stimulating” effect of the President’s economic philosophies for quite a bit longer…