How many jobs did Obama save?
Early figures spark renewed debate over how effective the stimulus has been
The White House released a report on Monday saying that President Obama's economic recovery plans may have created 250,000 education jobs. The administration is pushing back against critics who say the economic stimulus did no good, and saying it's on track to reach the goal of saving or creating 3.5 million jobs. How many jobs has the stimulus really saved?
Good news for the White House: A quarter-million education jobs —not bad, said Derek Thompson in The Atlantic. Those jobs wouldn't exist if the stimulus money hadn't "allowed states to restore much of their education budget shortfalls for 2009 and '10." Another report last week said the stimulus saved or created 30,000 jobs with private infrastructure builders.
250,000 Education Jobs: Good News for White House
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's too early to count stimulus jobs: Thirty thousand is a "puny number," said the San Francisco Chronicle in an editorial, and it "has both Democrats and Republicans in full spin mode to present the figure in the best or worst possible light." But we're talking about "a sliver of a slice"—just 2 percent of the huge program—so we'll have to wait to see whether the stimulus will make the jobless recovery less painful.
A too-early tally on stimulus jobs
The stimulus won't be enough: Let's be realistic, said Don Miller in Money Morning. "The worst recession since the Great Depression has already eliminated 7.2 million jobs, and analysts figure 750,000 more jobs could disappear over the next six months." Without a second stimulus, President Obama doesn't have a realistic shot at creating enough jobs to "preserve the fledgling recovery."
Will high unemployment strangle the recovery?
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The numbers don't lie: "There is no 'economic recovery' taking place in the U.S.," said Jeff Nielsen in Seeking Alpha. "This year is much worse than last year—and 2010 will be much worse still. The only thing currently preventing the debt-implosion of the U.S. economy is the Bernanke printing press," not the Obama stimulus.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Nuclear near-misses
The Explainer From technical glitches to fateful split-second decisions, the world has come to the brink of nuclear war more times than you might think
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?
The Explainer The future is flooded
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
American Airlines pilots are warning of a 'significant spike' in safety issues
In the Spotlight The pilot's union listed 'problematic trends' they say are affecting the airline's fleet
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published