WASHINGTON - How well is the stimulus working? This week saw disappointing data in durable goods orders and housing, prompting some economists to predict a double dip recession.

Yet on Tuesday the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report showing that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 increased the number of people employed by between 1.4 and 3.3 million people in the second quarter of 2010 and lowered unemployment by 0.7 to 1.8 percentage points.

CBO concludes that without the Recovery Act unemployment, which stood at 9.5% in July, might exceed 10% and possibly be above 11%.

There's just one problem. CBO's latest figures are inconsistent with its claims of the effects of the stimulus bill when it was passed in February 2009. If its models...