We blew it. Big time.
As you can see in the below graph, courtesy the Innocent Bystanders blog, what Obama promised regarding unemployment numbers post-$800 billion stimulus is far from reality. Even his calculations of what would happen had we done nothing is far better than what the numbers turned out to be.
Based on this graph, Obama's own stimulus has made things worse. There is no other conclusion to be had. According to him, we had two options...his stimulus, or nothing. It turns out nothing would have been the better option, since his spending spree has led to unemployment numbers that we haven't seen for 26 years.
But don't worry, the White House has a new spokesman that will clear everything right up.
h/t: Fielding Yost
You make a credible argument that stimulus spending is bad for the economy in the long run because it leads to higher government debt which crowds out private investment. (but that takes a while to play out)
ReplyDeleteYou can also make a credible argument that the stimulus has done very little to help the country in the short term because government spending is inefficient.
However, there is absolutely no rational economic reason why stimulus spending would actually increase unemployment or make the economy worse in the short term than it would have been without the stimulus. I haven't seen any credible economist argue this (conservative/liberal anywhere in between)
I don't necessarily disagree with your overall point or economic philosophy. But, man c'mon... At least try to keep it honest. Stay away from the hyperbole.