posted
No, I don't think that this is a reasonable metric, here is why...
From Recovery.Gov...
Recipients now calculate jobs based on the employee hours paid for with Recovery funds during a single quarter.
For example, if three employees of a recipient worked on a Recovery-funded project for a total of 1,300 hours in a given quarter, and the recipient defines a full-time schedule as 520 hours per quarter (40 hours per week, for 13 weeks), the recipient would report that the “full-time equivalent” (FTE) of 2.5 jobs (1,300/520 = 2.5).
So, let's do a theoretical exercise.
If I recieve Stimulus money, and I hire 400 people for only one week at 8 hours a day...
400(people)*40(hours)=16000(man hours worked)
Now, take that 16000 hours and divide it by 520(full time schedule) and I get 30.8 jobs that I created with the Stimulus money I received...
But wait...
The 400 people are still unemployed...
So, how much did that 30.8 jobs 'created or saved' help them?
This is my problem with this manner of counting. When I'm told that a job was 'created or saved' I am assuming that someone is now employed that previously wasn't, or that someone is still employed that would have been let go without the Stimulus money.
Or even better, let's look at the other part of that definition a little closer:
if three employees of a recipient worked on a Recovery-funded project
So, if the project was funded (in part) by Stimulus money, all employees on the project would count toward jobs 'created or saved'. Regardless of how many paychecks the money would have actually covered.
This is a ridiculous way to try and spin how well this $200 billion+ has been spent.
Posts: 1802 | From: Utah | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
so, you don't agree with the way they count jobs, i can understand that. counting man-hours and converting to man-weeks may not equate to your idea of a job, but it is still a valid employment metric when you are dealing in macro-economics.
the 400 unemployed in your fantasy still got by for another week while they were waiting for the private sector to get its act together and create your "permanent" jobs (which do not exist either.)
they went to the store and bought, paid their bills etc. that in turn keeps other people in their jobs.
we still get back to the fact private industry was not hiring, they were in fact firing.
you'll find that only 77 billion has been paid out in contracts grants and loans...
about 90 billion is in the from of Tax benefits and 109 billion is in entitltements.
i'm wondering what they mean by entitlements.
here's what my state got:
Top Funding Federal Agencies Amount Department of Education $631,861,815 Department of Transportation $377,513,097 Department of Energy $267,834,641 Department of Health and Human Services $156,826,786 Environmental Protection Agency $98,870,369 Department of Housing and Urban Development $95,685,926 Department of Agriculture $87,902,464 Corps of Engineers $79,809,792 General Services Administration $72,941,303 Department of Homeland Security $48,235,470 Department of Labor $45,938,763 Department of Justice $30,917,249 Department of the Air Force $21,735,211 Department of the Interior $9,780,942 National Science Foundation $8,924,504 Department of Commerce $7,975,944 National Aeronautics and Space Administration $5,792,402 Department of the Navy $4,934,712 Department of Veterans Affairs $4,026,452 Department of the Army $1,928,985 Other Independent Agencies $1,002,722 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities $377,600 View All Agencies Updated: 02/10/2010
quote:which part is wasted? we need more education money here, we are hurting pretty bad.
If wisely spent, this is one area that I actually agree with you needs more funding. The U.S. cannot compete in the manufacturing fields with countries that pay their workers pennies per day. The only way to bring foreign money into the U.S. is either through exportation of raw materials\resources or through higher technologies\advancements. That can only be achieved through promoting higher education.
Posts: 1802 | From: Utah | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
I think it is crazy that politicos include education under the umbrella of entitlement.
In my opinion there are a number of agencies that get grouped under that title that don't belong there and if they were taken out it would do us all a favor in the 'entitlement' rhetoric of capitol hill.
Seek, I am impressed. It is obvious that you spent time combing through the recovery.org site to glean what you could. That was what I wanted.
You are right, unless find that the jobs created report for the current quarter comes in around 750,000 jobs then Biden exaggerated. By how much we will find out the end of March.
I know you dislike the counting process but think about your example in another light...The reason they switched to employment hours was likely because of short term projects like yours. Not necessarily to obfuscate but to create a more realistic accounting of what is going on.
If it were just 'jobs created' then they could have been totally truthful in saying 400 jobs were created by the 'Seeking Freedom Project' and leaving it at that. By going by billable hours it gives a more accurate account of what is taking place by breaking the number of that short term employment down.
This is another bone I have to pick with critics of the stimulus act. The whole long term employment shtick. From the very beginning it was stated that this project was to help put people to work and spur the economy while the business world found their feet. It was never designed to provide long term employment. It was to give construction workers something to do until housing projects started up again. Keep educators teaching while states slashed spending to deal with Billion dollar deficits. Provide employment for at least a portion of the people who lost their jobs due to the fiscal malfeasance of the unregulated capitalism until individual companies padded the bottom line to the point they felt comfortable hiring again. You say where are the long term jobs? Ask Apple who had record profits in 2009. Ask Goldman Sachs. Ask Texas Instruments. Ask Citigroup. Ask Starbucks.
All posting strong quarterly profits. So...the companies are making money. Where are the jobs Seek?? Where are the jobs?
-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues. Posts: 5178 | From: Up North | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by SeekingFreedom: [QUOTE]The U.S. cannot compete in the manufacturing fields with countries that pay their workers pennies per day. The only way to bring foreign money into the U.S. is either through exportation of raw materials\resources or through higher technologies\advancements. That can only be achieved through promoting higher education.
That's total bullchit rhetoric that is being touted by BOTH of the POS political parties that exist in this country...
tariff the products that are imported here and/or force the Chinese to stop artificially deflating their currency and manufacturing jobs will return...
the ONLY reason that neither of those two things are happening right now is because BOTH the Reps and the Dems are OWNED & controlled by multinational corporations...PERIOD
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It's all in the timing... Posts: 4303 | From: DSA | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by buckstalker: the ONLY reason that neither of those two things are happening right now is because BOTH the Reps and the Dems are OWNED & controlled by multinational corporations...PERIOD
that's it in a nutshell.
the percentage of politicians that stand up and say how our economic backbone is small business and then turn their backs on US small business owners is close to 100%
the recent finding of the supreme court allowing what appears to be unlimited corporate spending in politics will only make the situation worse.
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
just watched FOX News Sunday interview Barber Gov MS and Grandholm Gov. MI, The intreviewer and both governors stipulate the stimulus package has created/saved between 1.2 and 2 million jobs.
again the number of 800 billion$ is used exclusively making it sound like the program is three times more expensive than it really has been.
Barber (GOP) acknowledged that the money that came to MS was mostly directed to his office to spend and the ONLY real criticism is again that it does not create PRIVATE jobs as opposed to "permanent" jobs.
it is not the Govt's repsonsibility or place to create private jobs.
the only way the US Govt can create private jobs immediately is to severely alter the US trade deficits.
long term? the govt can help create private jobs by funding research that will be proprietary to US owned co's but that takes years.
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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