Stimulus

[Mike McKinzie]

L.A.: $111M in Stimulus Saved Just 55 Jobs

More than a year after Congress approved $800 billion in stimulus funds, the Los Angeles City Controller has released a 40-page report on how the city spent its share, and the results are not living up to expectations.

"I'm disappointed that we've only created or retained 55 jobs after receiving $111 million," said Wendy Greuel, the city's controller. "With our local unemployment rate over 12% we need to do a better job cutting red tape and putting Angelenos back to work."

According to the audit, the Los Angeles Department of Public Works spent $70 million in stimulus funds and created 7 private sector jobs and saved 7 workers from layoffs. Taxpayer cost per job: $1.5 million.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation created even fewer jobs per dollar, spending $40 million but netting just 9 jobs. Taxpayer cost per job: $4.4 million.

Greuel blamed the dismal numbers on several factors:

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So my question to the BP members: How many jobs could you create with $111,000,000.00?

[Kevin Yeats]

One major, troublesome aspect with government work is measuring it *output*.

As Rich above stated, we could pay 2,200 people $50K each to pick up trash but are cleaner parks and streets *worth* $50K per year ... assuming one trash collector per community. Could we hire 4,400 people at $25,000 per year and generate twice as many jobs?

How about hiring them to dig holes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and filling the holes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays? By the bean counters, these are jobs created but what did they produce? On net NOTHING!

It is interesting to look at the funds this Administration doled out to "create or save teacher's job." The cost for saving each job is somewhere around or over $100,000 per job. Now explain to an hourly worker how his/her taxes have to go up so that this teacher earns that kind of money.

I suggest that if Federal dollars are used to pay for state, county and municipal jobs that those workers have to go on Federal pay scales.

Taxpayers have to sacrifice so they can have a job, government workers should also bear part of the pain.