Calculator abuse? (Wizbang)

Some might more accurately call it taxpayer abuse or even a fraud committed against the American people:

... the White House claimed 640,329 jobs have been created or saved because of the $159 billion in stimulus funds allocated as of Sept. 30.
...

The White House argues that the actual job number is actually larger than 640,000 -- closer to 1 million jobs when one factors in stimulus jobs added in October and, more importantly, jobs created indirectly, such as "the waitress who's still on the job," Vice President Biden said today.

So let's see. Assuming their number is right -- 160 billion divided by 1 million. Does that mean the stimulus costs taxpayers $160,000 per job?

Jared Bernstein, chief economist and senior economic advisor to the vice president, called that "calculator abuse."

He said the cost per job was actually $92,000 -- but acknowledged that estimate is for the whole stimulus package as of the end of 2010.

Think about this for just a second.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) as of the end of September was 5.4 million.

Abusing my own calculator for a quick second, I come up with $29,629.63 for each.

If you're one who buys into the notion that the government should be assisting these people, wouldn't a check for $30k have done it?

Crossposted(*).

Comments (5)

Rick, the utter hilarity is... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by Justrand | October 31, 2009 9:53 AM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)

Justrand

Rick, the utter hilarity is that this Bernstein character defends the stimulus by saying the $160,000 per job figure is WRONG!

It was ONLY $92,000 per job.

I feel better already.

Posted on October 31, 2009 09:53

Alternatively, if they'd wa... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by JLawson | October 31, 2009 10:42 AM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)

JLawson:

Alternatively, if they'd wanted to give a 'stimulus' check of $6000 to every wage earner in the US, (Figure 150 million) that would have cost only $900 billion.

That would have enabled people to pay off credit cards, buy cars, pay late mortgage payments, put money away in savings, get paid up on bills and the like...

Nah, how foolish. The little people have NO idea how to spend money responsibily. Better to raise their taxes and snag their money before they can waste it.

For responsible spending you HAVE to give it all to the government and then let THEM spend it how they see fit, like throwing it out onto every half-baked idea they can come up with.

Posted on October 31, 2009 10:42

I can hardly wait for the b... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by GarandFan | October 31, 2009 11:57 AM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)

GarandFan:

I can hardly wait for the bail out that's coming next year. Seeing as the states used most of the stimulus money to keep from making cuts. Tax revenues are still down, so the same budget shortfalls will occur next year.

Our wonderful state legislature in California is INCREASING state withholding by 10% as of Nov 1st. This means people will have LESS to spend. Spending less means that sales tax receipts will be LOWER. Which means a bigger shortfall in revenue next year. But don't worry. Come next April, if you've overpaid your taxes, the state will give you a refund. In the form of an IOU.

Posted on October 31, 2009 11:57

I know Wall Street was VERY... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by ODA315 | October 31, 2009 1:03 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

ODA315:

I know Wall Street was VERY pleased with the new "jobs created or saved" number yesterday.

Posted on October 31, 2009 13:03

I have to admit. Barry sure... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by 914 | October 31, 2009 3:55 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

914:

I have to admit. Barry sure kept a straight face when He lied about creating/saving a million new jobs. Makes Me kind of proud of our country again.

Posted on October 31, 2009 15:55