The Phantom Jobs Stimulus

At least funny bones are being stimulated by the Obama Administration’s $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

To wit, how many Americans does it take to make nine pairs of work boots? According to the White House’s recovery.gov site, an $890 shoe order for the Army Corps of Engineers, courtesy of the stimulus package, created nine new jobs at Moore’s Shoes & Services in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

Asked by the New Orleans Times-Picayune why so many recipients would misstate their districts, Ed Pound, the director of communications for the Obama Administration’s recovery.gov, said, “Who knows, man, who really knows.”

The nonexistence of the jobs and places allegedly stimulated by the Recovery Act doesn’t necessarily mean the money was misspent or stolen. But it does indicate that the claims made on its behalf are a political illusion.Read more at online.wsj.com