In early 2009, President Obama predicted that his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would "jump-start our economy," "create new jobs," and provide "many years of economic growth." He claimed that this growth would "cut the deficit in half by the end of [his] first term in office" and put "our nation on sound fiscal footing." Terrified of a repeat of the Great Depression, Americans supported the president's plan for more than $1 trillion in new government spending.
The White House predicted that in 2012 the economy would grow by 4.6 percent, unemployment would drop to 6 percent, and the budget deficit would shrink to a mere 3.5 percent of GDP.
Well, here we are, and no one is talking about these predictions anymore. Real economic growth has stagnated at 2 percent, while official unemployment hovers near 8 percent and actual unemployment remains in the double-digits. Adding insult to injury, the only growth the stimulus spending has actually produced is a ballooning of the deficit to 8.5 percent of GDP. Only in Washington, D.C. could the idea of overspending our way out of a financial hole be taken seriously. It is almost as if, in addition to checking common sense when crossing the D.C. beltway, no one in government learns from past mistakes.
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EXPERT COMMENTARY
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Didn't Work
In early 2009, President Obama predicted that his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would "jump-start our economy," "create new jobs," and provide "many years of economic growth." He claimed that this growth would "cut the deficit in half by the end of [his] first term in office" and put "our nation on sound fiscal footing." Terrified of a repeat of the Great Depression, Americans supported the president's plan for more than $1 trillion in new government spending.
The White House predicted that in 2012 the economy would grow by 4.6 percent, unemployment would drop to 6 percent, and the budget deficit would shrink to a mere 3.5 percent of GDP.
Well, here we are, and no one is talking about these predictions anymore. Real economic growth has stagnated at 2 percent, while official unemployment hovers near 8 percent and actual unemployment remains in the double-digits. Adding insult to injury, the only growth the stimulus spending has actually produced is a ballooning of the deficit to 8.5 percent of GDP. Only in Washington, D.C. could the idea of overspending our way out of a financial hole be taken seriously. It is almost as if, in addition to checking common sense when crossing the D.C. beltway, no one in government learns from past mistakes.
Continue Reading
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