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Monday, February 22, 2010

Stimulus Did Save Jobs - Overpaid Government Ones

Tiger Woods and John Edwards had a better year than the stimulus bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday, arguing that the $787 billion spending bill passed a year ago saved some jobs -- government ones.

Comparing the golfer and former presidential candidate, who both suffered public scandals in 2009, to the recovery bill, McConnell, R-Ky., said the legislation was sold on the claim that unemployment wouldn't go above 8 percent. Unemployment peaked late last year at 10.2 percent and now is 9.7 percent.

McConnell said the stimulus bill has done "little or nothing" to stimulate the private sector.

"It probably did save a lot of state government jobs, and I'm sure the governors were grateful to have it. They don't have the luxury we have of borrowing money from future generations to deal with short- term emergencies," he said.

But Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, said the stimulus has created short- and long-term investment that has helped the auto industry in her state invest in the electric vehicle, creating a whole new sector for the economy.

Granholm said 15 companies in Michigan, where unemployment is 14.6 percent, are working on electric vehicles and the stimulus bill saved 42,000 jobs there. She added that it also has helped people with unemployment benefits. - FOX News Story

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