CBO: Stimulus DID create Millions of Jobs

There was some good news from the CBO today:

CBO: Stimulus bill created up to 2.1 million jobs

By ANDREW TAYLOR, The Associated Press – Feb 23, 2010

WASHINGTON — The economic stimulus law added between 1 million to 2.1 million workers to employment rolls by the end of last year, a new report released Tuesday by congressional economists said.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office study also said the $862 billion stimulus added between 1.5 to 3.5 percentage points to the growth of the economy in 2009.

[…]

CBO projects that the stimulus measure to have a greater impact this year, boosting gross domestic product [GDP] by 1.4 to 4 percentage points and lowering the unemployment rate by 0.7 to 1.8 percentage points.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…

And CBO is projecting even more good news this year, due to the Stimulus Jobs Bill …

CBO: Unemployment would have topped 11% without stimulus

USAToday – Feb 23, 2010

The CBO says the nation’s unemployment rate was between 0.5% and 1.1% lower because of the stimulus. In other words, the unemployment rate could have been more than 11% without the stimulus package, according to the CBO’s analysis.

The CBO also estimates that the nation’s economic output was 1.5% to 3.5% higher in the fourth quarter of 2009 because of the stimulus. The White House economists’ estimate was between 1.5% and 3% of extra growth of the gross domestic product.

The stimulus’ job effects will peak during the middle of this year, the CBO says, at between 1.3 million and 3.5 million jobs in the third quarter of 2010.

http://content.usatoday.com/co…

So despite GOP Opinions to the contrary, Goverment CAN create Jobs by strategic investments.  We need MORE of that — NOT less.  

People need Jobs — NOT Promises!

And the American Economy needs basic investments in Infrastruture, and Energy, and the Education.  

America needs to BUILD the Bridges to the Future — NOT just dream about it!

Such long-term investment in OUR OWN Country has worked in the Past — and it will work now, too (as that new CBO Report shows).

During the Depression of the 30’s the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had many, many concrete accomplishments, not least among them was giving idle hands an opportunity to build something of lasting value:

The Works Progress Administration (WPA).

This government office hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects. Many of these projects were similar to ones sponsored by the Public Works Administration.

During its existence, the WPA constructed:

more than 600,000 miles of roads and

built or repaired more than 124,000 bridges,

125,000 public buildings,

8,000 parks, and

850 airport runways.

In addition to hiring people from traditionally working-class backgrounds, the WPA also created programs for academics, actors, and artists.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral….

The Stimulus Package, WAS one huge Step in the right direction — it’s just that we could USE about 2 or 3 MORE Steps, just like that one. (at least according to those brainy Civil Engineers — about $2.2 Trillions worth)

Roadmap to Recovery

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a strategic and significant investment in our country’s future. The Act will save and create jobs immediately while also laying the foundation for a robust and sustainable 21st century economy by modernizing our health care, improving our schools, modernizing our infrastructure, and investing in the clean energy technologies of the future.

Recovery Blog

SO GOVERNMENT CAN CLEARLY do Good Things, especially when WE The People set Goals, and drive the Agenda, for building that Better World, we all want to see. Future Generations are depending on US.

The Need for investing in America:

It’s not like there’s no shortage of things that need to be fixed, or built in this country.  For instance most Bridges have an expected life time around 50 years.  Guess how old most of them are? … over 50 years!

It’s like your roof was leaking, and everyone, just keeps rotating buckets under the leak — INSTEAD OF doing the Hard Work of actually fixing the roof!

Sooner or later SOMEONE needs to do the Routine Maintenance! It only costs more to put it off, and LET SOMEONE ELSE fix it later!

It’s not like there aren’t Idle Hands out there — just looking for something to fix …

The Geography Of A Recession 2007-2009



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

People need Jobs — NOT Promises!

America needs to BUILD the Bridges to the Future — NOT just dream about it!

We need less talk — and MORE Action!

and MORE Stimulus-enabled Work Opportunities, too.

— AND we needed them Yesterday!