To the Point
What Has 800 Billion in Stimulus Spending Bought?
During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt put four million people to work in four months. In two years, President Obama's $787 billion stimulus has failed to reduce unemployment as promised, and much of the money hasn't even been spent.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readDuring the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt put four million people to work in four months. In two years, President Obama's $787 billion stimulus has failed to reduce unemployment as promised, and much of the money hasn't even been spent. When it was enacted in 2009, it was advertised as a fast-track program for hiring the unemployed as well as creating new jobs, and was to focus on projects called "shovel-ready?" So-called stimulus watchdogs in Vermont and California say there is no such thing. What about the money that has been spent? Has the Reinvestment and Recovery Act been a victim of false advertising as well as red tape?
Warren Olney
former KCRW broadcaster
Sonya Geis
Senior Managing Editor
Katie Cooper
Producer, 'One year Later'
Christian Bordal
Managing Producer, Greater LA
Laura Chick
Office of the Los Angeles City Controller (formerly)
Harold Meyerson
Editor, The American Prospect; and Columnist
Gary Burtless
Brookings Institution