Research Briefing

With Job Estimates From His Failed $787 Economic Experiment Riddled With Errors, President Obama Must Be Ignoring Reality

OBAMA’S STIMULUS SPOKESMAN CLAIMS THERE ARE NO “SIGNIFICANT ERRORS” THAT JUSTIFY FURTHER CORRECTIONS TO THEIR ESTIMATE OF JOBS “CREATED OR SAVED”

Last Wednesday, Ed Pound Could Not Verify Accuracy Of White House’s Stimulus Job Estimate. “‘We’re not certifying the accuracy of the information,’ said Pound … Asked why recipients would pluck random numbers - 26, 45, 14 - to fill in for their congressional district, Pound replied, ‘who knows, man, who really knows.’” (Jonathan Tilove, “Recovery.gov Web Site Errors Fuel Criticisms By Opponents Of Program,” New Orleans Times-Picayune, 11/18/09)

But Two Days Later, Pound Said “Unless We Find Significant Errors Causing Public Confusion, We Are Not Planning Further Corrections.” (Louise Radnofsky, “Agency Stands Pat On Stimulus Jobs,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/23/09)

HAS OBAMA BEEN IGNORING HEADLINES FROM THE PAST SIX MONTHS?

Arizona Republic (11/23): “Reports Of Stimulus Funding Fall Short”

The San Francisco Chronicle (11/23): “Errors Riddle Accounts Of Stimulus Spending”

The Times-Picayune (11/23): “Sorry, Wrong Number On Stimulus: An Editorial”

The Post And Courier (11/22): “Fuzzy Math For Stimulus Jobs”

The State [South Carolina] (11/22): “From SC To DC, Stimulus Job Battle Rages”

The Baxter Bulletin [Arkansas] (11/21): “Administration Gets Creative With Stimulus Bookkeeping”

The Sun Herald [Mississippi] (11/21): “Stimulus Money And Jobs Are Clearly Accounted For … Sort Of”

The Dallas Morning News (11/20): “White House’s Job Creation Claim Comes Under Renewed Fire After More Doubts Arise”

The Los Angeles Times (11/20): “1 Million Stimulus Jobs? House Panel Investigates”

The Nashua Telegraph (11/20): “White House Data Spur More Queries”

The New York Times (11/20): “Watchdog Urges Caution On Claims Of 640,000 Stimulus Jobs”

Pasadena Star-News (11/20): “Our View: Transparency Only As Good As The Information”

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review (11/20): “Some Don’t Report How Stimulus Funds Spent”

The Wall Street Journal (11/20): “Stimulus Jobs Tally In Doubt”

The Washington Post (11/20): “GAO Warns Stimulus Jobs Data Could Contain Inaccuracies”

The Washington Times (11/20): “GOP Challenges Job Stimulus Data”

WJACTV.com [Pennsylvania] (11/20): “Federal Stimulus Dollars Going To Fake Districts”

The Associated Press (11/19): “Stimulus Watchdog: Job Creation Data Flawed”

The Associated Press (11/19): “FACT CHECK: Stimulus Money To ‘Phantom’ Districts?”

The Associated Press (11/19): “STIMULUS WATCH: Did White House Overplay Job Data?”

Bloomberg (11/19): “Stimulus Creating Jobs Even If Numbers Not Known, Watchdog Says”

The Boston Globe (11/19): “For Stimulus Funds, Unlikely Destinations”

The Cincinnati Enquirer (11/19): “Phantom Districts Have Stimulus Jobs”

CNN Money (11/19): “More Questions Over Stimulus Jobs”

The Dallas Morning News (11/19): “Errors On Government Web Site Make It Difficult To Track Stimulus Money”

The Las Vegas Review Journal (11/19): “RECOVERY.GOV: Errors On Web Site Fund List”

The Lexington Clipper-Herald [Nebraska] (11/19): “Errors Continue To Pop Up On Stimulus Reports”

Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/19): “Did Stimulus Money Go To ‘Phantom’ Districts In Minnesota?”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (11/19): “Federal Stimulus Funds Reported In Nonexistent Pennsylvania Districts”

The Salt Lake Tribune (11/19): “Recovery Watchdog Checking His List Twice”

Tulsa Today (11/19): “Oklahoma’s Phantom Districts”

The Wall Street Journal (11/19): “The Phantom Jobs Stimulus”

The Washington Post (11/19): “Job-Counting Help Is Needed”

WGRZ News (11/19): “Gov’t Website Shows Stimulus $ Sent To Places That Don’t Exist”

WRN News [Wisconsin] (11/19): “Tax Dollars Go To Non-Existant Districts”

ABC News (11/18): “GAO Says More Than 50,000 Jobs Claimed From Stimulus Projects That Have Spent No Money”

ABC News (11/18): “Fact-Checking Biden’s Stimulus Fact-Check”

ABC KRDO.com [Colorado] (11/18): “Your Tax Money Awarded In Phantom Colorado Congressional Districts”

Bloomberg (11/18): “‘Road Trip’ Shows Obama Stimulus Falling Short, Carnell Says”

Foster’s Daily Democrat (11/18): “Jumble Of Stimulus Numbers Shows Funds Going To Nonexistent Places In NH, Maine”

The Houston Chronicle (11/18): “Site Lists Jobs In Imaginary Texas Districts”

KIMATV News [Washington] (11/18): “Job Count And Stimulus Dollars Don’t Add Up In Yakima”

KYW-TV (11/18): “Confusion Over Site Tracking Stimulus Money”

myFoxPhoenix.com (11/18): “Major Errors Found On Government’s Stimulus Website”]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/18): “Stimulus Tracking Website Has Problem”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/18): “Stimulus Site Tracks Funds To Non-Existent Ill., Mo. Districts”

The State (11/18): “DeMint, Wilson Rip Bogus Job Creation Claims”

U.S. News And World Report (11/18): “Uncovering Obama’s Stimulus Sham”

The Virginia-Pilot (11/18): “Federal Stimulus Funds Allocated To Phantom Congressional Districts”

The Wall Street Journal (11/18): “Number Of Stimulus Jobs Created Called Into Question”

The Washington Times (11/18): “EDITORIAL: Meaningless Stimulus Numbers”

The Wisconsin Rapids Tribune (11/18): “Obey Slams White House Over Stimulus Reporting Errors”

WMBF News (11/18): “Stimulus Tracker Shows Funds Went To Non-Existing Districts”

ABC News (11/17): “Creating Job Creation? Lawmakers Question Obama Administration Stimulus Claims”

ABC News (11/17): “Key House Dem Wants Answers On Recovery.gov Errors”

ABC4 News [Utah] (11/17): “Utah’s Fictitious ‘4th Congressional District’ Gets $1.2 Million In Stimulus Funding”

ABC 5 Eyewitness News [Minnesota] (11/17): “Site Shows Stimulus Spent in Phantom Districts”

Arizona Central (11/17): “Good News If You Live In Arizona’s 15th Congressional District”

The Atlantic (11/17): “David Obey Is Not Happy With The Stimulus Reporting Problems”

The Birmingham News (11/17): “Alabama Stimulus Job Numbers Don’t Add Up”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (11/17): “Stimulus Is Working In Ohio – Even In Phantom Districts”

The Daily Sentinel [Colorado] (11/17): “Junk Numbers On Jobs“

The Hill (11/17): “WH: Stimulus Errors ‘Don’t Change’ Recovery Act’s Effects”

The Hill (11/17): “I Smell A Rat”

The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register (11/17): “Job Data Doubted: Local Agency Says ‘It Was A Typo’”

WVIT News (11/17): “The 64th Congressional District And Other Recovery Failures”

Montana’sNewsStation.com (11/17): “Controversy Brews Over Stimulus Money Tracking”

McClatchy (11/17): “Government Web Site Says Stimulus Created Jobs In Nonexistent Districts”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11/17): “Obey Criticizes White House For ‘Stupid Mistakes’ On Stimulus Reporting”

NBCi4.com [Ohio] (11/17): “Local Reps.: Stimulus Funding Website Errors Need To Be Fixed”

The New Orleans Times-Picayune (11/17): “Recovery.gov Web Site Errors Fuel Criticisms By Opponents Of Program”

Politico (11/17): “VP Briefed On Flawed Jobs Stats”

The Salt Lake Tribune (11/17): “Stimulus Funds To Utah’s 4th District? Well, Not Exactly”

The St. Louis Business Journal (11/17): “Warning: Stimulus Site Full Of Errors”

The Washington Post (11/17): “Accounting For Stimulus Jobs: Be Careful What You Wish For”

USA Today (11/17): “Obey Rebukes Administration Over Stimulus Job Reports”

ABC News (11/16): “Exclusive: Jobs ‘Saved Or Created’ In Congressional Districts That Don’t Exist”

ABC News (11/16): “ABC News Exclusive: Obama Admin Slashed 60,000 Jobs From Recent Stimulus Report”

The Hill (11/16): “Obey Slams Administration For Stimulus Reporting Errors”

The Kansas City Star [Missouri] (11/16): “Counting The Local Impact Of Federal Stimulus Isn’t As Simple As 1-2-3”

The Los Angeles Times (11/16): “Good News: Obama Creates 30 New Jobs In One Congressional District. Bad News: No Such District”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11/15): “Georgia Jobs Created By Stimulus Dollars Overstated”

The Chicago Tribune (11/5): “Stimulus Job Report Filled With Errors”

The Greenville News (11/15): “[South Carolina’s] Stimulus Job Count Questioned”

ABC News (11/13): “Obama Stimulus Job Count Under New Criticism”

The Las Vegas Review Journal (11/13): “Stimulus Job-Count Guidelines Frustrate“

The Associated Press (11/11): “Report: Mass. Federal Stimulus Job Inflated“

The Boston Globe (11/11): “Stimulus Job Boost In State Exaggerated, Review Finds”

The San Diego Tribune (11/11): “Stimulus Dishonesty”

The Denver Post (11/10): “Stimulus-Jobs Count In Colorado Overinflated“

WALB News (Georgia) (11/10): “Moultrie Non-Profit Accused Of Inflating Stimulus Reports”

Politico, (11/7): “‘Created Or Saved’ Doesn’t Add Up”

The Sacramento Bee (11/6): “California Jobs ‘Saved’ By Stimulus Funds Weren’t In Jeopardy”

The Atlanta Journal Constitution (11/5): “Stimulus Watchdog: Job Counters Confused, Need Guidance”

The Beaufort Observer [North Carolina] (11/5): “Jobs ‘Saved Or Created’ By Stimulus Full Of Bogus Data”

The Chicago Tribune (11/5): “Illinois Investigates Errors In Economic Stimulus Money Used For School Jobs”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11/5): “Don’t Count On Stimulus Job Tally”

The New York Times (11/5): “Reports Show Conflicting Number Of Jobs Attributed To Stimulus Money”

The Associated Press (11/4): “STIMULUS WATCH: Salary Raise Counted As Saved Job”

Chicago Tribune (11/4): “Illinois Data On Stimulus-Related Jobs Saved, Created Don’t Add Up”

The Dallas Morning News (11/4): “Texas’ Stimulus Impact Report Counted Summer Jobs, Had Errors”

The Wall Street Journal (11/4): “White House Tally Appears to Overstate Stimulus Jobs”

The Columbus Dispatch (11/3): “Not All Jobs ‘Saved’ By Stimulus Were In Danger”

USA Today (11/3): “Analysis Finds Stimulus Confusion”

The New York Post (11/1): “NY Jobs Don’t Add Up”

Politico (11/1): “Saved Or Created? W.H. Can’t Tell”

The News Tribune [Oregon] (10/31): “Fewer Local Jobs Saved By Federal Stimulus Than Reported”

The Los Angeles Times (10/31): “White House Touts 1 Million Jobs From Stimulus”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (10/31): “Obama Job Claims Questioned; Expert Doubts As Many As 640,000 Created, Saved”

The Salt Lake Tribune (10/31): “Number Of Utah Jobs Created By Federal Stimulus ‘Inflated’”

MPR News [Minnesota] (10/30): “Some Stimulus Recipients Say Job Numbers Don’t Add Up”

The Sarasota Herald Tribune (10/30): “Stimulus Job Count Is Murky”

The Worcester Telegram (10/30): “Creative Accounting”

The Associated Press (10/29): “Stimulus Jobs Overstated By Thousands”

WNCT News [North Carolina] (10/29): “AP Review Finds Problems With Job Creation Numbers”

USA Today (10/28): “Early Reports: Job Gains Signal Stimulus Impact”

The Wall Street Journal (10/28): “The Challenge in Counting Stimulus Returns”

The News Journal [Delaware] (10/27): “Stimulus Jobs Difficult To Count”

The Courier-Journal (10/26): “Questions Raised About Stimulus Reports’ Accuracy [In Kentucky]”

The News-Leader [Missouri] (10/25): “Job-Creation Figures In Doubt”

CNNMoney.com (10/16): “On Stimulus Jobs Reporting, A Big ‘Oops’”

The Durango Herald [Colorado] (10/16): “Stimulus Projects Hard To Track Locally”

Reuters (9/23): “Worries Arise About Quality Of U.S. Stimulus Data”

The Wall Street Journal (9/16):  “To Count New Stimulus Jobs, Help Really Wanted”

The Hill (8/22): “States Rushing To Meet Stimulus Deadline”

The Associated Press (7/28): “SPIN METER: ‘Help Wanted’ Counting Stimulus Jobs”

The Los Angeles Times (7/20): “Highway Spending Isn’t The Stimulus It Was Envisioned To Be”

Time (7/14): “Obama’s Stimulus Plan: Failing By It’s Own Measure”

The Wall Street Journal (6/24): “States Given Leeway in Tallying New Jobs from Stimulus”

The Los Angeles Times (6/14): “Some Projects Raise Question: Where’s The Stimulus?”

CBS News (6/11): “Do Obama’s Job Creation Numbers Add Up?”

ABC News (5/28):  “Stimulus Overhype?”