Friday, October 30, 2009

Job Creation, Transparency, and Mistakes   [Veronique de Rugy]

The White House has announced that it will release new job-creation figures this afternoon on recovery.org. However, I would put no faith in the reported data. Why? Because the last figure of 30,383 jobs created or saved reported a few weeks ago (still displayed on the website as I type this post), and vigorously defended by the administration, was packed with mistakes and overstatements.

The Senate Republican Communications Center has a list this morning of such ridiculous misreportings. Among my favorites:

ONE STIMULUS PROJECT REPORTED 4.7 MILLION JOBS CREATED: “One Contractor Reported Creating 4.7 Million Jobs, Which Is An ‘Obvious Error.’” (“Questions Raised About Stimulus Reports’ Accuracy,” Courier-Journal [Louisville, KY], 10/26/09) . . .

REPORTED 6 JOBS WHEN ACTUALLY FOUR TRUCK DRIVERS WERE EMPLOYED FOR ONE MONTH: Stimulus Money “Kept The Two Of Them And Two Truck Drivers From Ozark Employed For The Month Of March. But On The Federal Reporting Forms, Willman Excavating & Construction Reported The Project Created Or Saved Six Jobs. Willman Said He Was Unsure Why His Son Wrote Down Six Jobs, But Noted The Federal Paperwork Was Confusing And Onerous.” (“Job-Creation Figures In Doubt,” News-Leader [MO], 10/25/09)

Also, yesterday the Associated Press reported many more instances of misreporting by the administration. My favorite:

Some recipients of stimulus money used the cash to give existing employees pay raises, but each reported saving dozens of jobs with the money, including one Florida day care that claimed 129 jobs saved.

10/30 12:02 PMShare