Did Obama Not Understand His Own Stimulus?
Posted July 8th, 2009 at 12:50pm in Ongoing Priorities 
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President Obama triumphantly declared on July 1: “The Recovery Act was designed to make sure local school districts didn’t lay off teachers and firefighters and police officers. And its done its job.”
Whether the stimulus has actually “done its job” is up for debate. But the release of a Government Accountability Office report today calls into question Obama’s vision for how stimulus funds should be spent.
Even the liberal Center for American Progress plays up the fact that “states aren’t using funds as intended.” Citing the GAO report, today’s Progress Report says:
Some states are “using education funds to prevent layoffs rather than fund innovative new programs” while others are “not sending transportation funding to the most economically distressed areas.” For instance, the report says that 21 counties in Illinois that were identified as economically distressed “would not have been so classified” if the state had followed the economic recovery act’s criteria. Moreover, local school officials “told the GAO they did not plan to use stimulus funding for educational improvements because they have to spend the money quickly [on] more pressing needs” such as saving teachers’ jobs or preserving current school programs.
Does the administration have a consistent message for how the stimulus funds are supposed to be spent? Based on the GAO report and Obama’s own comments about preventing layoffs, it’s unclear.
One thing is for certain: It’s rare that the Obama-boosters at CAP contradict the President. But even for his die-hard supporters, it’s apparently becoming more difficult to defend Obama’s failing economic policies.
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4 Responses to “Did Obama Not Understand His Own Stimulus?”
Gabby on July 8th, 2009 at 12:50pm said:
He’s ONLY as good as his teleprompter–It’s seems to run a lil slooooow.
Gabby on July 8th, 2009 at 12:50pm said:
Ten US dollars( worth 10 cents in upcoming months) says that Obama will blame Sheriff Joe Biden for NOT following the “funny money” closer. Who ‘da thunk this WAS not going to happen? It was NOT rocket science to see thru all this BS months ago! Obama’s ROSEY scenario is TOTALLY looking like a weed patch!
Mark Taber Oklahoma on July 8th, 2009 at 12:50pm said:
I am not sure that any of the Obama Administration know what is what. Let alone understand it.
J.C. Hughes, Texas on July 8th, 2009 at 12:50pm said:
As with any socialist architect, they tend to throw ever more tax payer green atop weakened structural components. This they call new. Demagogues Obama, Reid and Pelosi are possessed by this mindset even though free-market structural engineers have sent up warning flares about needed economic repairs. As long as Obama is at the controls, we’re headed for a catastrophe. Voting out all the leftist and liberal congressional incumbents in 2010 is putting on the brakes at the last second. There will be no time to spare.