Nice Trip, Now Get Back to Work, Mr. President

Wall Street Journal thinks 100K figure is way off

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration says a $10 billion portion of its 2009 stimulus directly prompted the creation of 100,000 jobs in alternative energy, but the claim is difficult to measure. Trouble is, such assessments are based on mathematical formulas and reports, not straightforward counts. Indeed, the Congressional Research Service urged "skepticism" in the matter; now, the Wall Street Journal finds the number of jobs created to be "far fewer." It doesn't provide a total, but rounds up example after example of projects that didn't deliver as promised. More»

Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment

(NEWSER) - Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when they had the chance. "Voters across America are in a bad mood, largely because of the still-grim economic situation. And when voters are feeling bad, they turn on whomever currently holds office." More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama's top economist is confident that swift action by the administration averted disaster, ABC News reports. “We were at the brink of catastrophe at the beginning of the year,” Larry Summers says, “but we have walked some substantial distance back from the abyss.” Summers credits the recovery to the two-tiered plan that moved quickly to stabilize the financial system while simultaneously preparing for future growth. More»

Bush-style hedging on possible 2nd stimulus isn't helping anyone

(NEWSER) - A second economic stimulus package looks increasingly necessary, and President Obama may get "caught in a political-economic trap" if he doesn't act soon, warns Paul Krugman in the New York Times. The Fed is out of the picture, and the White House has to deal with legislators convinced that "government spending is bad, even in the face of the worst slump since the Great Depression." And Krugman can't help observing: "As I said, I was afraid this would happen." More»

Call for bold action on economy followed by plan that falls a long way short

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's call for aggressive action on the economy hasn’t been backed up by a plan bold enough to do the job, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times. Plunging levels of investment and consumer spending will leave a gap of around $2 trillion between what America produces and what it can sell—and Obama's plan only offers $775 billion to fill that hole. More»