surprisingly, USA Today published this.

Analysis finds stimulus confusion - USATODAY.com (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-11-02-stimjobs_N.htm)

WASHINGTON — The federal government sent Bob Bray $26,174 in stimulus aid to fix a fence and replace the roofs on public apartments in Blooming Grove, Texas, a town of fewer than 900 people outside Dallas. He hired five roofers and an inspector to do the job.

But the number of jobs he reported to the government looked very different — 450 jobs

now is anyone actually surprised that they over reported the numbers?

surprisingly, USA Today published this.

Analysis finds stimulus confusion - USATODAY.com (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-11-02-stimjobs_N.htm)



now is anyone actually surprised that they over reported the numbers?



They didn't over-report numbers!


So, he directly hired 5 roofers and an inspector for the job. Plus he helped to save the jobs of all the people at the lumber yard where they got the wood for the fence, the mechanics in town who maintained the contractor's vehicles, the waiters and waitresses in the town's restaurants where they ate lunch - the people in the hardware stores where they bought their tools ...

And with those jobs saved, all their bills got paid, so the people at the local electric company's jobs were saved along with the people at the phone company, the local cable TV station, all the insurance companies that got paid, the local grocery stores, laundromats, pet-shops, hair salons, movie theaters.


And with all those jobs saved.... etc.





In actuality, that one roofing job pretty much saved the entire US economy. And it is saved, indeed.... We're coming out of the recession, you know.

People, let's not get mired down in the details, the micro issues here, when the macro, the 'stimulus' itself is not understood, at all, by the vast majority of us.

How many people even know that only a small fraction of this money has even been spent?

Thank you Bob Bray!