According to an old joke, if you ask any two economists a question you will get back at least three opinions. As humor goes it’s only mildly funny. But as a gloss on the discussion of the stimulus, it’s terrifically on point.
Conservatives have slammed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) as a grotesque waste of money, claiming it has not created any jobs. Liberals counter that, to the contrary, it has created or saved millions. For instance, the White House Council of Economic Advisers claims the stimulus deserves credit for perhaps as many as 3.6 million jobs created or saved. Writing Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal, economist Alan Blinder says, regarding the claim that federal spending of more than $600 billion had zero effect, "that would be quite a trick."
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