Stimulus Jobs Grossly Overstated in Report Lauded by White House

The Obama administration has been quick to pat itself on the back for the jobs alleged created by stimulus programs that have the country’s debt spiraling out of control. The self-congratulations came in waves after a report stated that 30,000 jobs have been created or saved by stimulus funds. The problem, however, is that the report in question has overstated job creation by a massive amount. The administration vigorously defended that report even as a new one is set to come out later today.

Ed DeSeve, who oversees the stimulus for the president, noted that the administration has been working for several weeks to fix mistakes in the early counts and noted, "I think you’ll see a pretty good degree of accuracy." Robert Gibbs, a White House spokesman, also was quick to try to bury the issue, noting, "We’re talking about 4,000, or a 5,000 error." What DeSeve refers to as "a good degree of accuracy" and Gibbs tries to ballyhoo as being only "4,000 or 5,000 off" really amount to 1 in 6 alleged jobs being nonexistent. That’s an overstatement of nearly 17%.

DeSeve talk about the correction process, however, noting, "Whatever problems the early and partial data had, the full data to be posted on Friday will provide the American people with an accurate, detailed look at the early success of the Recovery Act." DeSeve made no comments on the "later destruction" that the Recovery Act will create, but that is, presumably, a problem for President Obama to worry about during the next election.