To the Point
Economic Stimulus: The Promise and the Reality
In two years, President Obama's stimulus package has not produced the infrastructure projects many people expected. Is that what it was really designed to do? We hear from two state "stimulus watchdogs" and others. Also, Goldman Sachs friends Facebook, and cold weather and global warming.
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenIn two years, President Obama's stimulus package has not produced the infrastructure projects many people expected. Is that what it was really designed to do? We hear from two state "stimulus watchdogs" and others. Also, Goldman Sachs friends Facebook, and the US and much of the world are freezing in this age of global warming. How come?
Banner image: Union workers hold signs during a rally in support of a proposed stimulus reform package for the City of San Francisco March 15, 2010 in San Francisco, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesGoldman Sachs Friends Facebook
Goldman Sachs is investing $450 million in Facebook , with another $50 million from a Russian firm called Digital Sky Technologies and a billion more from so-called "high net-worth clients." The deal values Facebook at $50 billion — more than eBay, Yahoo or Time Warner. Felix Salmon is finance blogger for Reuters .
Read the story8 minWhat 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.
Read the story36 minWhy All the Extreme Weather?
Everybody knows about the winter weather — closing airports in Europe, collapsing the Metrodome roof in Minneapolis, and tying up much of the eastern United States. It's even unusually cold in Siberia.
Read the story7 min
