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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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January 10, 2009
UPPING THE ANTE.... It wasn't too long ago that Barack Obama was talking about an economic rescue plan that would save or create 1 million jobs. By Thanksgiving, the number was in upwards of 2.5 million. Shortly before Christmas, the target was 3 million. As of this morning, it's a plan that may create as many as 4 million. In his weekly radio/video address, Obama explained, "I asked my nominee for Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Christina Romer, and the Vice President-Elect's Chief Economic Adviser, Dr. Jared Bernstein, to conduct a rigorous analysis of this plan and come up with projections of how many jobs it will create – and what kind of jobs they will be. Today, I am releasing a report of their findings so that the American people can see exactly what this plan will mean for their families, their communities, and our economy. "The report confirms that our plan will likely save or create three to four million jobs. 90 percent of these jobs will be created in the private sector -- the remaining 10 percent are mainly public sector jobs we save, like the teachers, police officers, firefighters and others who provide vital services in our communities. "The jobs we create will be in businesses large and small across a wide range of industries. And they'll be the kind of jobs that don't just put people to work in the short term, but position our economy to lead the world in the long-term." The report (pdf) is online. Mike Allen noted the document addresses the tax-cut question -- tax cuts are a weak stimulus, compared to direct government spending -- and acknowledges that tax breaks "are likely to create fewer jobs" than infrastructure investments. The report suggests, however, that the incoming administration has no choice but to pursue a variety of stimulus options. "[B]ecause there is a limit on how much government investment can be carried out efficiently in a short time frame, and because tax cuts and state relief can be implemented quickly, they are crucial elements of any package aimed at easing economic distress quickly," the report says. All of this comes, of course, just a day after we learned that the economy shed 524,000 jobs in December, and 2.6 million jobs in all of 2008. —Steve Benen 1:25 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (11)
Comments
I'm not much for the prayer thing - but I pray that Obama chooses well and is successful! Posted by: Mark-NC on January 10, 2009 at 2:00 PM | PERMALINK1/20/09 can't come soon enough for someone to start leading this country responsibly. Whatever the economic plans are, whatever they necessarily evolve into, will be better than what has been going on under the robber-barons. Posted by: jcricket on January 10, 2009 at 2:16 PM | PERMALINKKrugman has taken a look at the Romer-Berstein report and his conclusion about the Obama stimulus remains the same. Bottom line: even if I use the Romer-Bernstein estimates instead of my own there really isnt much difference this plan looks too weak. I also have a question. How does Obama get from the reports reduction in unemployment by 2 percent to four million jobs? Posted by: rege on January 10, 2009 at 2:18 PM | PERMALINK The report (pdf) is online. I was hoping for an economic platform like green energy or broadband and an explanation of how it would renovate or grow the economy. Instead it offers little more than theoretical assumptions extrapolated to project job gains. My question would be, is this a starting point from which you look for projects that will match the theoretical assumptions? Or are there actual projects they don't detail, from which they make the assumptions? Posted by: Danp on January 10, 2009 at 2:32 PM | PERMALINKDanp, thanks for reminding me that the report is online. It answered my stupid question. Speaking of fiscal responsibility and 1/20/09 not coming soon enough, what the heck was Laura Bush just doing spending half a million dollars on new White House china? Posted by: Sarah Barracuda on January 10, 2009 at 3:25 PM | PERMALINKIs there going to be government web surfing jobs? Sarah Barracuda asked: > what the heck was Laura Bush just doing She was giving the big F-U to the Obamas, in her sweet, passive-aggressive Texas way. Since (based on the cost) this is presumably state china, reserved for large, official events, it seems likely that the Bushes won't even use it in the next ten days -- indeed, if it's even been delivered. She's preempted letting Michelle Obama make the choice and, given that the Obamas will undoubtedly be reluctant to make a new purchase anytime soon, leaves the new First Family stuck with something they may or may not like. So it's a two-fer. Posted by: Andy on January 10, 2009 at 3:53 PM | PERMALINKAndy - the china was bought with gifts from Bush donors. Therefore, they can't take it with them. I'm guessing the Obamas will make due. Posted by: Danp on January 10, 2009 at 5:43 PM | PERMALINKCan't remember if it was Yglesias who said it but, he began to worry a little that government isn't big enough to deliver the stimulus required. Posted by: MNPundit on January 10, 2009 at 11:15 PM | PERMALINK
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