$787 Billion Debacle Failed To Create Jobs, Drove Nat’l Debt Past $14.3 Trillion
When liberal U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and his tax-and-spend friends in Washington rammed through the $787 billion stimulus, they promised it would “save or create 3.5 million jobs before 2011” and he said it was a “big victory for middle-class folks in Montana.”
But the fact is, 28 months since Tester and the Democrats passed their stimulus, nearly 1.9 million fewer Americans are employed.
As CNS News reports:
Twenty-eight months after Congress passed President Obama’s signature economic stimulus law, and nearly one year after he declared the summer of 2010 to be “Recovery Summer,” 1.9 million fewer people are employed. In February 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 141.7 million people were employed. By the end of May 2011 – the last month for which data are available – that number had fallen to 139.8 million, a difference of 1.9 million.
“When Jon Tester and his fellow Washington Democrats rammed their $787 billion stimulus into law, they promised it would ‘save or create 3.5 million jobs,’ but today there are 1.9 million fewer Americans employed,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “Montanans will hold Tester accountable for his massive spending debacle that failed to create jobs while driving our national debt past $14.3 trillion.”
Background Information:
“The Obama administration is defending its claim that the $787 billion economic stimulus plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs before 2011 even while conceding that unemployment will likely continue to rise beyond its earlier predictions.” (Stimulus plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs, White House says, Associated Press, 05/11/09)
President Obama’s Economic Advisors Christina Romer And Jared Bernstein Predicted Unemployment Would Not Rise Above 8 Percent If The Stimulus Was Passed. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,”1/9/09)
Tester Said The Stimulus Would Create “Millions Of New Jobs” And Cut Taxes “By Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars.” “Both of Montana’s U.S. Senators today voted in favor of a plan to rebuild America’s struggling economy by creating millions of new jobs, investing in long-term infrastructure, and cutting taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester voted to pass the Jobs Bill, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” (Senator Jon Tester, “Baucus, Tester Vote For Final Jobs Bill, At Least $626 Million For Montana,” Press Release, 2/13/09)
Tester Called The Stimulus A “Jobs Bill,” And Said It Was A “Big Victory For Middle-Class Folks In Montana.” “‘This Jobs Bill is a big victory for middle-class folks in Montana who are paying a tough price after years of failed economic policies,’ Tester said. ‘This Jobs Bill will rebuild our economy from the ground up by putting folks to work and investing in people. We won’t get out of this mess overnight, but passing the Jobs Bill is an important first step, and it will pay us back for generations to come.’” (Senator Jon Tester, “Baucus, Tester Vote For Final Jobs Bill, At Least $626 Million For Montana,” Press Release, 2/13/09)
“‘The Word “Stimulus” Is A Washington, D.C., Word That Doesn’t Mean Much In My Book,’ Tester Said. ‘That’s Why—From Day One—I Have Called This The Jobs Bill. Because That’s Exactly What It Is. You’re Either For Jobs. Or You’re Against Jobs . . . .’” (Senator Jon Tester, “Tester To Congress: ‘You’re Either For Jobs Or Against Jobs,’” Press Release, 2/11/09)
Tester Said He Looked At The Stimulus As A “Jobs Bill,” And Said “We Needed Something To Really Put People Back To Work. I Think This Bill Does That.” MADDOW: “First of all, I know you were a big supporter of the stimulus bill. So, congratulations to you on that legislation passing the Senate today. I have to ask you if you expect to see big changes in the conference committee before the president signs it?” TESTER: “Well, I really don’t. And I really look at it as a jobs bill, Rachel. I think that, you know, when you have the unemployment rates like we’ve had over the last three months, we needed something to really put people back to work. I think this bill does that.” (MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” 2/10/09)
But Since The Stimulus Was Passed, America Has Lost Nearly 1.9 Million Jobs
- Our County Has Lost Nearly 1.9 Million Jobs Since The Stimulus Passed In February 2009. (Matt Clover, “1.9 Million Fewer Americans Have Jobs Today Than When Obama Signed Stimulus,” CNS News, 6/14/11)
- The Unemployment Rate Is 9.1 Percent And Has Remained Above 8 Percent For 28 Straight Months. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 6/3/11)
