So Long, Stimulus Jobs
Remember all those jobs supposedly saved or created by the Democrats’ $862 billion stimulus package? While they’re hard to find, most of those that can be identified were public sector jobs – directly reliant on stimulus funds – and it looks like they didn’t get saved for long.
“Federal stimulus money has helped avoid drastic cuts at public schools in most parts of the nation, at least so far. But with the federal money running out, many of the nation’s schools are approaching what officials are calling a ‘funding cliff.’” (NYT, 2/7/10)
The Times article focuses on education funding, but the “funding cliff” extends to any area of government spending that received stimulus funds. When the stimulus money runs out, so do the government jobs it allegedly “saved.” Who would have predicted that?
Moral of the story? Instead of addressing the fundamental economic problem, Washington Democrats merely allowed State governments to push off their own budget issues for a year or two at most. The government-centric approach to economic stimulus has once again been shown to be a dismal failure. What would have worked better? Oh, maybe some policies that promote long-term and sustainable job creation in the private sector.
Source: Republican Study Committee
