"Stimulus" Fuzzy Math of the Day Becomes a Figment of Imagination

Thursday, November 5, 2009 3:19 PM by Mattie Duppler

We have started tracking the fuzzy accounting of “stimulus” jobs created by the so-called plan, and as more stories come to light our concerns about the project grow. Massive inaccuracies in accounting for jobs in Wisconsin are magnified by the fact that federal authorities are refusing to fix the errors to reflect the real numbers, stating that entries into the federal data set can’t be accessed until January.

The Journal Sentinel reports that the Parkland Sanitary District treasurer mistakenly entered “50” instead of “5” jobs in the federal government’s online reporting system, a number that could not be fixed and was then counted twice, to reflect that it was funded by both a grant and a loan. Similar artificial doubling of job numbers has been reported by other agencies in the state.

What’s more, pay raises are still being counted as “saved” jobs and officials are now moving beyond the jobs “saved or created” myth to tout a new line: jobs “indirectly saved or induced.” The Sentinel explains:

An indirect job includes one created by an asphalt plant that supplied material for a road construction project. An example of an induced job: A waitress at a restaurant where construction workers eat lunch.

It seems we have moved passed “fuzzy” math and moved right on into imagination. What’s next? When it comes to the logical cartwheels this administration turns to justify its economics, very little surprises us anymore. 

photocredit: maubrowncow

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