Did the stimulus work?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Did the stimulus work?

This is a question with some nuance to it. Work at what? What was it supposed to succeed in doing?

The stimulus validated Keynes pretty nicely. It did exactly what it was predicted to do. It did save millions of net jobs... for the time being, at least. It put a floor under GDP. We got a good quarter and two tolerable quarters ut of it. Psychologically that was quite important.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, the stimulus succeeded in doing exactly what it was predicted to do... that is, what was predicted by responsible economist types. And that's why some folks were screaming bloody murder that it was too small to do much. It's effects were calculable and we knew going into it that it wasn't going to do much to restore the economy to sustainable growth.

Was the objective of the stimulus to restore sustainable growth? If so it was a failure, but not a surprising failure.

Was the objective of the stimulus to temporarily brake the slide... a smoother glide path to a zero-growth new normal? If so, it succeeded. But if that was the objective then what was plan B?

There had to be a plan B, right?

Right?

[Subdivisions]

1. It was a collosal failure. n/t

[Skittles]

2. fuck no

and it's readily apparent there is no PLAN B

[keep_it_real]

3. Supposed there was no stimulus? Would we be better off?

What would have been the consequence of no stimulus?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

6. The stimulus prevented 13-14% unemployment (top-line # as measured)

The stimulus prevented a quarter or two of negative GDP growth which would have been devastating to expectations, hiring, private investment, inventories, etc.

Without the stimulus the new normal of fuckedness we are entering would have been normalized at an even lower level.

The stimulus was important.

It was not, however, enough to have any hope of restoring sustainable growth.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

16. pure speculation...13/14%? I don't know...and neither does anyone else...

[dkf]

4. Problem is it was sold with the premise we would not reach double digit unemployment.

So you are right that certain economists called it. But the pols over promised and underdelivered.

[alfredo]

5. The stimulus worked

for those who found jobs.

[lib2DaBone]

7. The stimulas allowed the Corporations who pay no taxes....

To accumulate the largest cash reserve in history.

All he while... Americans are being evicted from their homes and treated like criminals.

[sendero]

8. It did not do what it was predicted to.

... it was predicted to keep unemployment below 8%.

Please do no attempt to rewrite history.

That said, the stimulus helped, but it was simply not enough. And at this point I don't see the political will to do much more.

Other than a sort of backdoor stimulus in the form of bailouts of CA, IL, NY and a few other states that are essentially bankrupt. This stimulus will at least help a few state and local workers keep their jobs.

Obama's handling of the economy has been pathetic. And once you saw the morons and crooks he loaded his economic cabinet with, you couldn't really claim to be surprised.

[pintobean]

9. thank you

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

15. Read harder or be less hostile, one or the other.

"... it was predicted to keep unemployment below 8%. Please do no attempt to rewrite history."

I am not rewriting history and if you read the OP for comprehension you would know that.

The 8% "prediction" was not a rigorous economic prediction, it was a political claim.

The OP refers to what modern economics predicted given the size and timing of the bill's provisions, not what some bozo in the administration claimed.

Who are you even snarking off on? I was most likely the biggest critic of the 8% claim on DU when it was first made because it was not true... it was not what was predicted by normal economic analysis of the question.

[sendero]

17. It was predicted by Obama's team..

. ostensibly with his concurrence. I stand by my objection.

Let me go further. It did not work because it was not nearly enough. To say that it was intentionally planned to not be enough is well, idiotic.

It was not enough because Obama and his illustrious team of banksters were concerned with the bank's health, not the economy's.

[rurallib]

10. at least as well as "the surge"

[Freetradesucks]

11. Every single last fucker that received stimulus funds to

stay afloat should have been allowed to sink.


This was the time to cull the herd.

[elocs]

13. Funny, I heard a Tea Party, hardcore Republican make the same argument on the radio.

Everybody, big and small should have been allowed to fail. Let the whole economy crash and start over again is what he said should have been done. My guess is that he felt he was probably safe from any failure, but let the rest go down regardless of whether it was their fault or not.

[Freetradesucks]

18. Funny, almost everyone on this thread shares my sentiment...

except you. That's pretty funny.

[elocs]

19. Well, isn't that special. I bet your Mom is proud of you.

Wow, isn't that pretty funny. Unfortunately I won't be reading any more of your sentiments.

[Freetradesucks]

21. Just out of curiosity, which right wing radio host

did you "happen" to be listening to at the time?

I'm sure you were either just flipping through the channels, or "keeping tabs" on the enemies talking points, right?

[Safetykitten]

12. A spectacular failure.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

14. Well, Let's Define Our Terms

Did the Stimulus work? Well, let's see. It was meant to STIMULATE the economy (tricky use of the verbiage here, I know, but do try to keep up). It did that. You see all the lines on all the economic graphs pointing in a positive direction immediately after its passage. So yes, it DID stimulate the economy. So I ask you, how can you sit here a year-and-a-half later, as the economy begins to SLOW (it hasn't even stopped growing yet--it's just growing more slowly than it did), and say that the stimulus was a failure?

That's like putting jumper cables on your car battery, starting your car, hearing it roar to life, removing the cables, driving 100 miles down the road, and having the car stall at a traffic light, and declaring that your jump-start was a failure. Uh, no, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. The rest was up to you. Particularly when your Republican passenger is constantly getting out of the car at every stop and pouring sugar into the gas tank, and then yelling, "SEE??? I TOLD you we never should have taken that jump!!!"

[CTyankee]

20. It wasn't big enough to do the job needed.

I hope this new initiative will be the rest of the stimulus...the part that the Admin. was too timid to do. I like it, and I hope to god it works the way it should -- putting people back to work and rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure...

[Dappleganger]

22. It was too small.

WAY too small. It also didn't make stipulations for certain jobs to be kept in the US (BUY US).

So no, it didn't work. It may have slowed down the bleeding in some areas, but for most folks it just prolonged the suffering with smoke and mirrors. We won't know how ineffective it was for a few years, probably, when we can look back and see the numbers more accurately.