Happy Birthday Stimulus Bill: When does recovery begin?

On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed the $787 billion “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” (“the stimulus”) into law, declaring: “Today does not mark the end of our economic troubles, But it does mark the beginning of the end - the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs; to provide relief for families worried they won’t be able to pay next month’s bills; and to set our economy on a firmer foundation.”

Sadly that promise was never realized.

When the stimulus was signed, Obama’s economic advisors predicted that the unemployment rate would be around five percent by the end of 2013.

According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in December 2013, and 6.6 percent In January 2014. And that’s the good news. Since the stimulus bill was signed, the Labor Force Participation Rate has fallen to 63 percent, meaning many Americans are so frustrated at the lack of jobs, they stopped looking for work altogether. Today’s workforce participation levels haven’t been seen since the bad old days of the Jimmy Carter presidency 36 years ago.

Despite the stimulus promise of shovel-ready jobs, construction employment declined by 524,000 workers.

And all the wasted funds, for example:

•$3 Million Turtles. “A report due to be released today by a Republican senator contends the Obama administration’s stimulus program is fraught with waste and incompetence — evidenced by a turtle crossing in northern Florida that will cost more than $3 million.” (LA Times)

•$2.5 Million For Clinton Bridge. “A historic bridge at Bill Clinton’s presidential center in Little Rock is slated to get $2.5 million of federal stimulus money from Arkansas’s share of the funds. … Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation sought an $8 million legislative earmark for the bridge this year, without success. But after Congress authorized the $787 billion stimulus package in February, representatives of the William J. Clinton Foundation contacted Mr. Beebe’s office, according to Matt DeCample, the governor’s spokesman, and spoke with Mr. Beebe’s recovery director and ombudsman to suggest the bridge project receive funds from Arkansas’s share.” (WSJ)