AP IMPACT: Road projects don't help unemployment

"Ten months into President Barack Obama's first economic stimulus plan, a surge in spending on roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment and only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry, an Associated Press analysis has found.

Spend a lot or spend nothing at all, it didn't matter, the AP analysis showed: Local unemployment rates rose and fell regardless of how much stimulus money Washington poured out for transportation, raising questions about Obama's argument that more road money would address an 'urgent need to accelerate job growth.'

Obama wants a second stimulus bill from Congress that relies in part on more road and bridge spending, projects the president said are 'at the heart of our effort to accelerate job growth.'"

Congress is about to pass another $75 billion stimulus package for job growth. First, that seems to me to be admitting the first was a failure. Second, the article backs up the first claim. There has been no job growth with road and bridge projects and yet Congress wants more money to do just that.

Is Congress ever going to learn from failed policies?

AP IMPACT: Road projects don't help unemployment - Yahoo! News

Conservatives have been saying all along that the stimulus would'nt do much....The AP is even agreeing now that the results are in.

Alex said:

"Ten months into President Barack Obama's first economic stimulus plan, a surge in spending on roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment and only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry, an Associated Press analysis has found.

Spend a lot or spend nothing at all, it didn't matter, the AP analysis showed: Local unemployment rates rose and fell regardless of how much stimulus money Washington poured out for transportation, raising questions about Obama's argument that more road money would address an 'urgent need to accelerate job growth.'

Obama wants a second stimulus bill from Congress that relies in part on more road and bridge spending, projects the president said are 'at the heart of our effort to accelerate job growth.'"

Congress is about to pass another $75 billion stimulus package for job growth. First, that seems to me to be admitting the first was a failure. Second, the article backs up the first claim. There has been no job growth with road and bridge projects and yet Congress wants more money to do just that.

Is Congress ever going to learn from failed policies?



AP IMPACT: Road projects don't help unemployment - Yahoo! News

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Very likely not.
Congress react with knee jerk actions as opposed to determination of root cause of problem.

Hey what else can you expect when you elect thieving Lawyers to run the nation?

These sorts of infrastructure improvements may benefit the country in the long term, but as a "shot in the arm" to get the economy moving, it's a fail.

I wish the Dems had given at least 10% of the scrutiny to that massive spending bill that they're giving to the current healthcare legislation.

except they can't call the new bill a "stimulus," it's a dirty word

it's a JOBS BILL, let's all get that straight

the president has destroyed this economy and there's no way out

his stimulus is a joke

his economic legacy is disaster:

taxes, penalties and regulations in health care and cap and trade, making for uncertainty in an already creaking job market

raising taxes on the middle class

taxing payroll

calling for GREEN jobs creation only

bailouts without strings

no lending

obscene profits and bonuses for the too big's

a TRILLION dollar increase in the debt ceiling

murderous medicaid mandates on states already submerged

a quarter T doc fix

a quarter T of double counting

treasury's underwriting in full all aig obligations

the fed's pressure on aig to lie to the sec

the secret deal with phrma

deficits at 14% of gdp

interest on the debt soon to approach a T

10 years of health care taxes vs only 6 of benefits

taxing medical benefits

taxing energy at both ends, production and consumption, in the middle of a depression

a 3rd bailout of gmac---december

the roofless reconstruction of fannie and fred---december

the president's prioritizing social issues like health care and cap and trade ahead of JOBS

his having to call a JOBS SUMMIT in december, purpose of which is to brainstorm ways out

he ADMITS he doesn't have the answers

he's SEARCHING

his reaction to the december jobs report, at this late, critical stage---he will determinedly and forcefully EXPLORE every avenue

he ADMITS he doesn't have answers

people see these things, they know in their guts what they mean

he's lost

Strucky said:

Conservatives have been saying all along that the stimulus would'nt do much....The AP is even agreeing now that the results are in.

Click to expand...

Obama thought he could pull off an FDR move like the TVA. What a fool. :roll:

who built the roads?

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!

:2razz:

Anyone know why this was moved so early? It seems to meet all of the criteria for *Breaking News* - Mainstream Media??

The road projects that I've seen around here have all been completely unnecessary - just landscaping. They get big machines just to make an island in the middle of the road and spruce up the street. Is it worth the cost? Doubt it.

The problem with building roads as a means of creating jobs is that it only works in areas where there are a lot of people with road construction skills out of work. Back when these things were done in the 40s and 50s, construction wasn't owned lock, stock and barrel by unions who have a vested interest in making sure the only people who work are in their union. You can't just take the first 50 people in an unemployment line and put them to work digging ditches, the ditch-digger's union will scream bloody murder and then demand that anyone who works on a project be paid prevailing wage and have to give their union a kickback.

Building roads is something that ought to be done when times are good and there's lots of money to spend on it. Trying to build infrastructure when times are bad, especially today, is a bad, bad idea.