Today Chris Matthews had superclown Jim Cramer from CNBC on to discuss the economy. Okay, that right there ought to be sufficient warning that a whole lot of bullshit and misinformation is on the way. Who can forget Jon Stewart famously making Cramer his chewtoy a few months back?
But what really bugged me about their exchange was some nonsense they were trying to peddle about the stimulus package, information about which is freely available to everyone on something called the internet.
Video and partial transcript of their boobery below the fold.
Matthews: When are the cranes gonna go up? When are the highways gonna be rebuilt? What happened to the true infrastructure spending that we were supposed to see?
Cramer: We never really got it. We never got it...
Matthews:...It didn't go to construction projects that people can smell and see...
Cramer: We did not get infrastructure.
Note: I edited out Matthews' spitting.
These two asses could have spent 10 seconds on the internets and found:
Only $70 billion, or about 12 percent of the $580 billion in the spending portion of the stimulus package, is out the door so far.
Moreover, that 12 percent includes some $13 billion from the Social Security Administration in one-time $250 checks to current Social Security recipients.
That comes from Pro Publica, a non-profit organization that is closely monitoring the stimulus and how it is spent. Since the above was written a couple of months ago, the numbers have changed slightly: we're now up to about $94 billion minus those Social Security checks, or about 16% overall.
The $580 billion refers to that portion of the package not devoted to tax cuts. In other words, the portion intended to create jobs. Moreover, some of the agencies with the most job-intensive agendas have barely spent a dime. Among them are:
The Department of Energy - has spent just 1.6% of their $45 billion allocation, which will include modernizing the electrical grid, weatherization, and retrofitting of buildings.
The Department of Transportation - has spent just 6.5% of their $48 billion. This will include high-speed rail, and highway and bridge construction.
HUD - Has spent just 11% of their $13.6 billion, which will include "energy efficient modernization and renovation of our nation's critical public housing inventory".
The Department of Agriculture - Has spent just 17.7% of its $27.5 billion, which will include rural broadband, rural water and waste facilities, and rural community facilities.
The Department of Education - Has spent just 20% of their $98 billion, $33.6 billion of which will go to school modernization and construction.
(See the Stimulus Progress Bar here).
In other words, that's the infrastructure that Matthews and Cramer are insisting "we never got". Actually, Chris and Jim, we haven't gotten it yet. The stimulus hasn't been spent yet. Got it? Google is your friend, boobs.
One last thing that ought to put fear in your heart: when asked by Matthews what he thought was going to happen with unemployment, Cramer responded:
"I think we are at the peak or within .1 [of the peak]. We are not going to breach 10%. I have my neck on the line on that."
That's what Jim Cramer said. That's bloody terrifying.
Here's the video (spitting included):