Michigan, which has the highest unemployment in the nation, is not faring any better because of the so-called “stimulus.” In fact, the $5.2 billion slotted for the state has, according to a Free Press analysis, “created or retained virtually no jobs.” In a state that has been hit hardest by the recession, it seems the President’s poorly-conceived plan has had, if anything, had the effect of creating part-time summer jobs for teens, providing for COLA adjustments and rental assistance.
In a nod to the na?vet? that guides the administration’s economic policy, White House Economic Advisor Jared Bernstein claimed: "It looks to us like the program is unfolding much as we hoped in Michigan.”
Amongst other things, this would mean the White House hoped the “stimulus” would, according to the Free Press, have the following effects:
- Three of every four stimulus grants, contracts and loans approved in Michigan created or retained one job or less.
- Fewer than 700 awards had received some money, and nearly half of those -- 327 -- had created one job or less, at a cost per job of $2.7 million.
- Some job estimates were wrong: General Motors Co., for instance, reported 105 jobs saved or created for a government purchase of 5,000 vehicles but later said no jobs were saved or created. The City of Detroit reported 342 jobs it now says were projections -- not jobs already created or retained.
If this is what the administration had hoped for in its grand disbursal of taxpayers’ money, no wonder Vice-President Biden thinks the “stimulus” has worked beyond his “wildest dreams.”