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Econwatch
October 30, 2009 1:08 PM

Consumers Aren't Buying Stimulus Jobs "Success"

By
Jill Schlesinger
Topics
Financial Decoder

This post by Jill Schlesinger originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.

I'm getting sick and tired of everyone talking about how much worse shape we would be in, but for (fill in the blank: TARP, stimulus, auto bail outs...) Even if it's true, it doesn't make anyone feel better. That's what I keep thinking when Obama Administration officials sound like cheerleaders claiming victory over job creation that occurred as a result of the $787 billion stimulus.

(AP)

A White House report will be released later today and it's expected to show that the stimulus plan helped create or save 650,000 jobs through September 30th. One might want to take these numbers with a grain of salt, after digesting the AP report, which suggested that the folks who are providing the data to the White House can't seem to add or subtract too well. The AP analysis calls into question any of the official numbers, though the White House countered it by saying that the AP examination only represented 2% of Recovery Act spending. Kind of like how political polls only represent only a sliver of the population, from which we extrapolate larger trends, but that must different, right?

As my niece would say, whatever. Whether the numbers are mathematically challenged or not, the job situation is dreadful and not improving soon enough to satisfy Americans. That's why they retrenched on spending last month. Personal spending dropped 0.5% in September, the steepest decline since 12/08 when we were in the eye of the recession's storm. Consumers are all too aware that jobs are scarce and those who are lucky enough to have them know that flat income is better than no income.

So, please no cheers for Q3 GDP or for stimulus job creation just yet. We're happy that the worst appears to be behind us, but recovery is a process, not an event and we have a long way to go.

More on MoneyWatch:
•Senate Deal on $8,000 Tax Credit: Who Qualifies?
•Boo! 5 Nightmare Economic Scenarios
•Benefits Check: Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
•21% Unemployment? Looks That Way
•Market Guru: Stocks Are Set to Fall
•Dumbest 401(k) Mistakes to Avoid

(CBS)
Jill Schlesinger is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch.com. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch, she was the Chief Investment Officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.

  • Jill Schlesinger

    >> View all articles

    Jill Schlesinger, CFP®, is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch. She covers the economy, markets, investing or anything else with a dollar sign. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch in 2009, Jill was the chief investment officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.

Add a Comment See all 11 Comments
by eferrell2 November 3, 2009 10:58 AM EST
I guess all those worthless UAW workers that got to keep their jobs don't count as "jobs saved"? The government should have let GM and Chrysler go down. Would that have made you feel better?
Reply to this comment
by babooph November 1, 2009 6:36 AM EST
To "consume" one must have $$$-with only debt & no income.....Rush ,O'reily &Kudlow are paid to pretend this is not the problem...
Reply to this comment
by natdef_1 November 1, 2009 10:43 AM EST
What are you talking about??? Maybe you should re-write that post....it doesn't make any sense, and just looks like a weak effort to call out three people who keep you up at night.
by natdef_1 October 31, 2009 3:01 PM EDT
Hey, I "saved or created" 421 jobs (that's right, exactly four-hundred and twenty-one!) myself because I forked over a boatload of tax money last year.

You don't see me getting up in front of the cameras to pat myself on the back.

Obama's self-aggrandizement is absolutely stomach-turning.
Reply to this comment
by gboyd41 October 31, 2009 6:29 PM EDT
natdef_1-I agree with you,stomach-turning; and, we will see it in the upcoming elections in 2010 and 2012. Hopefully, replacing this current administration! To those with similiar concerns-do not be cheap-contribute.
by jbd37 November 2, 2009 8:32 PM EST
kind of like "mission accomplished?" or maybe a little more tempered and selfless, to offer encouragment that we are on the right track as a country... or maybe you're too partisan to recognize... or maybe you need your national pride to take over your GOP idealogy...
by midlclass October 30, 2009 3:48 PM EDT
well here's another article for the left and right to point fingers at each other. the big question again is what is america going to do to get its self up on all fours again? the repubs are crying foul for spending tax money. the dems are crying that we need to spend more to get the economy running again. the key here people is JOBS JOBS JOBS. no matter how there created thats what we need. 1.2 trillion to fix our infrastructure sounds like agood investment creates jobs here in the states. who's going to intiate this. remove the bush tax cuts raise everybodies taxes to pay down debt. pass legislation to PROTECT our jobs if it means tarrifs. fine do it. the free market will have to play along. if it means capping executive salaries pass the legislation... lets do somthing other than pointing fingers left and right.call or better yet write a real letter to your reps.(helps the postal service)and all get on the same page. if it dosn't work elimante it this is what roosevelt had to do. Corp america needs to step upalso stop firing people and adding to the pain. suck up some lost revenue fgor awhile. the unemployed don't buy anything more than neccessary to survive a well paid employee will contribute to a stronger economy. simple economics? yes no?
Reply to this comment
by natdef_1 November 1, 2009 10:43 AM EST
ever heard of a "paragraph?" These massive run-ons remind of emails I get and never read...
by sjc_1 October 30, 2009 2:37 PM EDT
No one is saying that they should "buy" anything, this is a slanted headline. They are already in debt up to their eyeballs, so I would not recommend that they buy anything. Most everything is made in other countries, so they would just helping the Korean and Chinese economies anyway.
Reply to this comment
by AngryMobVoter October 30, 2009 1:54 PM EDT
Obama's claim about saved jobs is just a meaningless distraction. The claim about how many jobs were created or saved is dubious at best. The main point is how the Obama administration and Congress have destroyed the financial future of future generations to come. The current economic policies are reckless and will result in insurmountable economic problems in the future. This administration has mortgaged the future just to get an economic blip up that will last until the next presidential election. The number do not add up and Obama is just politics as usual.

We are experiencing the biggest intrusion into our private lives in the history of the country and the biggest perversion of our economic system as well. Obama is pointing us to a future of stagnation. It is time to VOTE THEM OUT!
Reply to this comment
by jbd37 November 2, 2009 8:37 PM EST
CLAIM: by assessing the government stimulus contracts one can assess the number of jobs created by those contracts. These jobs fill the hole of the ailing private economy, thus "jobs saved or created." As long as there is a democrat in the presidency cleaning up the ramifications of a republican trickle-down under-regulated private economy and a spend-more-than-tax government budget EVEN in the years of relative economic health.... there will be hypocrite naysayer ideologue pessimist sore losers. Likely, you missed the boat on good governing policy years ago. where were you when repubs were running up debt to $10 trillion in economically healthy times? Don't just sit back in your armchair on the computer and rail. This is your country: are you part of the solution or part of the problem?
See all 11 Comments
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