Stimulating the Unemployment Line

Whew. That's what I really needed, a chart that says everything is going to be all right.

Thanks for posting this "beauty" Jay. I will definitely have to check out Innocent Bystanders. I typically enjoy stuff that would make some people offended, so it sounds like I will fit right in there.
When I look at this chart, I can only be grateful that as a Real Estate agent I have some control over my financial destiny.

That is a very nice chart. Of course it shows how difficult it is to predict future economic conditions. And to therefore evaluate the affect of economic policy. Different people can just decide on their own what would have been the case without the policy intervention. I think most all economist agree the unemployment rate is lower due to the stimulus spending than it would have been.

Most all economist, against the spending, thought the long term impact of the stimulus was worse than the short term benefit. These are the same economist that have been against the massive deficits approved the last 10 years.

Charts like these are always so thought provoking, aren't they? Of course this graph is based on two particularly provocative metrics: Statistics and predictions.

If you are wondering where the stimulus money is going, check out this link: http://www.recovery.gov/. According to this website, only 1/3 of the available recovery funds have been spent.

How is the money being spent in Arizona? Check out this report: http://az.gov/recovery/assets/docs/GAO_Recovery.... The report details how Arizona has used a portion of the funds to ease budget shortfalls, how the money has been allocated - the largest portion going towards ACCHS and Education budgets, and how awards have just now been granted for $252M of highway repair work - which should create jobs in the near future. Arizona has only seen job preservation benefits so far - for example, returning teachers to the classroom who lost their jobs earlier this year. Job creation benefits are still in the works as the newly awarded contracts are implemented.

I am no economist, but it seems to me there is still a little room for optimism!

Thanks for the links Kristin. I'm not an economist either and you're right, there may be some room for optimism. This graph is scary though, not for the predictions, but for the actual numbers. Let's face it, trying to predict what the unemployment rate will be in the year 2014 seems like a waste of time, I don't care who you are or what you do!

They used scare tactics get all their wasteful spending rushed through and said it would stimulate the economy. They are just doing more of what the previous clowns did, but on steroids. They don't care about the future of our country. They just care about power and making to the public more dependent on the government. The voters wanted change and they are going to get it stuck to them ;-)

Thanks for the blog recommendation and thanks to Kristin for the great links!

At least they forecast something positive. 2014 looks promising. It looks like we are in this for awhile.