Biden: Stimulus doing more `than we had hoped'

[babylonsister]

Biden: Stimulus doing more `than we had hoped'

By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trumpeting economic progress to a skeptical nation, Vice President Joe Biden says the massive government program intended to stimulate and reshape the economy is reaching and exceeding goals.

Nearly 200 days into the effort, Biden says it is more effective "than we had hoped."

Biden's upbeat report card, to be delivered Thursday in a speech at the Brookings Institution, comes as economists say the country is slowly breaking free of the most crippling recession in decades. Yet public angst is also deepening about the cost of government intervention, and millions of people remain out of work.

At the heart of President Barack Obama's agenda for an economic turnaround is the $787 billion package he signed into law on Feb. 17. The effectiveness of the two-year program is a matter of sharp political debate; Biden, the administration's point man on the issue, is aiming to show a restless public that results are tangible.

"Recovery act dollars are going farther and working harder than we anticipated," Biden said in excerpts released in advance by his office.

With Obama on vacation at the Camp David presidential retreat, the White House hopes Biden's message will get through on perhaps a quieter news day. Biden is up against a wary audience when he says "the recovery act is doing more, faster, more efficiently and more effectively than we had hoped."

A Gallup poll last month found 51 percent of Americans wished the government would have spent less to stimulate the economy. The same poll found 41 percent thought the stimulus package was helping the economy in the short term; 33 percent saw no effect, and 24 said it was making the economy worse.

Citing a scorecard, Biden says that over the past 100 days, using stimulus money, the administration has met its goals of paying for 135,000 education jobs and hiring or keeping 5,000 police. Other goals have been exceeded, he said, from the number of highway projects to new water systems to health centers.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BIDEN_ECONOMY?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Jennicut]

1. The gallup poll...if we had spent less we would be even worse off

The money is really just starting to get out there and now some economists are starting to give it some credit.

[babylonsister]

2. Even the wsj...

wsj: "stimulus appears to be “helping the US climb out of the worst recession in decades.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6443994&mesg_id=6443994

[Jennicut]

3. That is the one I saw the other day....even the WSJ.

[CanonRay]

4. It helped the banks. Not so sure about anybody else.

[babylonsister]

5. ??? You're obviously not a teacher or cop or fire fighter who had

their job saved by the stimulus. But keep your head in that sand.

[phleshdef]

6. Go learn the difference between the TARP fund and the Stimilus bill, THEN come back here and type.

[scheming daemons]

7. The Stimulus had absolutely nothing to do with banks....

...educate yourself.


TARP: to banks

Stimulus: NOT to banks

[Cha]

9. It's helped a lot of peeps..maybe you should investigate before

you pop off mediawhore talking points.

[JimWis]

8. Joe did an excellent job on his presentation. It was great to hear

all the successes that are going on. He was very detailed on both the good things happening and the problems. It would be my wish that everyone in the country could see this and get a better understanding on what and how this recovery plan is working. I was very impressed with how they are tracking this and creating a handbook on how to better deal with government spending in the future, based on what they are now learning. K&R

[Cali_Democrat]

10. 24 percent said the stimulus was making the economy worse....

There they are again, the 24 percent. The same people that approved of Bush at the end of his disastrous term.