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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Saturday, January 10, 2009

$260,000 per job

It's not this simple as the stimulus money is intended for an across the board boost, but I'll bet we'll be hearing this alot over the next month.
The president-elect is proposing to spend about $775 billion to create or save 3 million new jobs. That amounts to $260,000 per job. "I hope Obama's jobs are really special," says an investment banker who ran the numbers.
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10 Comments:

  • OK. It's 260,000 per job. But then we'll have to say that every new bridge, every highway repair, every new green power plant and all new-energy research was free!

    Of course the argument is bogus. It's like saying I paid a guy $38,000 for 3 month work, but fail to mention that I got an addition to my house as well.

    By Blogger -epm, at 10:12 AM  

  • It's a complete distortion, I agree. And it gives new meaning to "running the numbers" when it merely involves dividing $775 billion by 3 million. It's not as if the "multiplier effect" were figured in, or the "opportunity cost" of not employing those people was included, much less the benefit from those projects.

    But what can one expect from someone who blithely states, "John McCain had a more compelling record of working across party lines than did his Democratic rival"? Whoever McCain once was, the man we saw in the election was nothing like him. In fact, his record was so "compelling" that the GOP was forced to saddle him with Palin in order to get Republicans to vote for their own Party ticket.

    By Blogger Todd Dugdale , at 11:16 AM  

  • I agree completely, guys. I was just throwing this up as a warning of sorts of what's to come.

    Perhaps my intro wasn't dismissive enough to make the point.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 11:28 AM  

  • I think you made the point well, but I just wanted to amplify it.

    Speaking only for myself, I don't see you as automatically endorsing any of the stories you post. The issues you choose spark response, as they should, but that doesn't mean you are the target of the response.

    In fact, I would like to thank you for pointing this story out. I often neglect to do that.

    By Blogger Todd Dugdale , at 12:36 PM  

  • Generally my goal is to link to something you probably didn't see elsewhere, or frame something known to ask a question.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 2:06 PM  

  • Along the lines of linking to something that is being completely ignored by the U.S. media, have you been following the recent Russian gas cut-off?

    People are literally freezing to death, and meanwhile, the Czech president is the sitting head of the EU. He managed to broker a deal with Putin personally after multi-lateral talks broke down.

    An interesting sideline is that Bush called Topolankek during his 4 hour meeting with Putin to talk about Gaza. Not that Gaza isn't important, but it reminded me of that guy who calls at the worst possible time. Typical.

    Anyway, really interesting story, and extremely important if you live in Europe (Czechs have 40 days of gas, Slovaks 10, Bulgarians freezing to death, etc.)

    By Blogger Praguetwin, at 5:03 PM  

  • Mike... I got your point, and like Todd was just building upon it.

    By Blogger -epm, at 6:51 PM  

  • Praguetwin, I've been following it a little bit. The way it's presented here is more as "a dispute" than a real threat.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:05 PM  

  • I say we have a lottery, all adults 18 and up get a ticket.

    The government can give out $260,000 to 3 million people pulled from that pool. That's a pretty fair chance to win, better than 1 in 100.

    Sure, it's a dumb idea. But so is the idea that red tape and bloat can effectively spend any money.

    By Blogger Will Von Wizzlepig, at 6:51 PM  

  • By Blogger raybanoutlet001, at 8:25 PM  

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