Believe it or not, wingnuts like Rick Santorum are now actually arguing not only that the Stimulus Failed, but that it actually caused a net loss of jobs compared to what would have occurred without it.
(CNN) - During an appearance on CNN's "American Morning" Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum claimed the 2009 stimulus package resulted in a loss of jobs. He cited a government report that he said previously stated 280 million jobs had been created by December and now says only 240 million jobs were created.
When pressed by CNN's Ali Velshi, who said there's a difference between a loss of jobs and creating fewer jobs than initially reported, Santorum remained firm on his position that the current administration has cost Americans' jobs.
This is wrong on so many levels it's literally painful to watch. Does he not know he sounds like a damn fool? For starters if the stimulus had created just 240 MILLION JOBS we would have absolutely full employment because the entire total of unemployed, including the long term unemployed, is only 13.4 Million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Just what the heck is he talking about?
Well fortunately for me, I tend to watch the tweets of many on the right-wing and in this case the answer to Santorum's otherwise insane claim came from David Vitter.
@DavidVitter Obama’s economists: “stimulus” cost $278,000 per job. http://t.co/... . One more exmple why we need to debate deficit this week. #latcot
So Vitter's link leads to a Weekly Standard Report which reads:
The report was written by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, a group of three economists who were all handpicked by Obama, and it chronicles the alleged success of the “stimulus” in adding or saving jobs. The council reports that, using “mainstream estimates of economic multipliers for the effects of fiscal stimulus” (which it describes as a “natural way to estimate the effects of” the legislation), the “stimulus” has added or saved just under 2.4 million jobs — whether private or public — at a cost (to date) of $666 billion. That’s a cost to taxpayers of $278,000 per job.
In other words, the government could simply have cut a $100,000 check to everyone whose employment was allegedly made possible by the “stimulus,” and taxpayers would have come out $427 billion ahead.
Furthermore, the council reports that, as of two quarters ago, the “stimulus” had added or saved just under 2.7 million jobs — or 288,000 more than it has now. In other words, over the past six months, the economy would have added or saved more jobs without the “stimulus” than it has with it. In comparison to how things would otherwise have been, the “stimulus” has been working in reverse over the past six months, causing the economy to shed jobs.
Ok, so Santorum just managed to get 2.4 Million confused with 240 Million. Gee, simple mistake anyone whose Running for President could make if they didn't realize there are only 350 311 Million people In the Entire Country and the whole workforce is only about half that size. See, he's like only off by 1900% or One Hundred Times Larger than the actual number. Why should anyone be surprised or shocked by that?
The other thing is that the claim that the Stimulus has actually lost jobs from 2.7 Million to 2.4 Million over the last six months, but in actually the report says this:
CEA estimates that as of the first quarter of 2011, the ARRA has raised employment relative to what it otherwise would have been by between 2.4 and 3.6 million.
Let me repeat: They didn't say that they had added just under 2.4 Million Jobs, they said it was between 2.4 and 3.6 Million.
Also this report actually doesn't say anything about "2.7 Million" - that was a previous report, so that's pretty misleading.
If you were to do the same math that they do dividing $666 Billion into 3.6 Million instead of 2.4 Million you get a Best Possible Case Scenario cost per job of $185,000 rather than $277,500 (Yeah, they rounded upward).
And of course, they ignore that 40% of the $666 Billion were tax cuts, not cash payments - so when you factor that in it drops the cost per job down to $111,000 each - which is pretty close to what they suggest could have been done to create those jobs. Pay everyone $100,000 (which if you include the cost of health care and pension for an Average family would leave about $75,000 per job... and that's over Two Years not just one.
But then you don't really have to go through all these hoops to prove Santorum (and Vitter) are parrots who'll repeat any ridiculous B.S. the rightwing think tanks feed them through their pseudo-media shills at the Weekly Standard.
All you have to do is look at this.
And people wonder why we shouldn't trust the GOP with handling the economic recovery?
Case Closed.
8:08 PM PT: Here's what Keith has to say about the fact-challenged Santorum and Romney: