CNN

Clearly you people still don't get the fact that government control is better than a free market society.

Bottom line it was a poor plan that was poorly executed. The stimulus is not working and now the media is drumming up some positive stories to write about it.

I would like to know anyone out there who is not a union member that was actually helped out by this plan?

States have the ability to raise taxes to pay for their own state needs it should not come from the Feds.

@Liberal and Proud of It dot com July 8th, 2009 2:57 pm ET

Obama is running up very small deficits compared to Reagan and Bush....
________________________________

HAHAHA...you're kidding right? Obama's created more debt than all previous presidents....COMBINED! Get your numbers right; stay away from "obamasites...."

@ TCM,

So what would have been better? Give massive tax cuts to already extremely wealthy people who would either not spend it or spend it on their own immidiate needs, thus having a similar result?

Even when they do invest the money to acctually create jobs the increase in wealth for the non-wealthy is pretty small compared to the increace in wealth to the wealthy from the decreased taxes AND the subsequent return on investment from said investment of reduced taxes. Because no wealthy individual in his right mind will invest money if they did not believe it would make more for them. If they got nothing in return that would just be socialism and we can't have that.

This report should not come as a surprise since so few controls have been placed on stimulus spending.

Members of Congress are not being held accountable because, well, it's the fox guarding the henhouse situation.

Any controls that are in place make as much sense as some of the comments that you find on this web site.

"The administration has said stimulus funds have already created or saved 150,000 jobs, and should create another 600,000 by summer's end. The figures are based on estimates that each $92,000 in stimulus money spent creates one job."

So, they have no hard information to back up their claim of jobs created or saved, just their prediction that spending $92,000 will create or save one job. They apparently need to use some of the stimulus funds to buy a better calculator. The story reports $29 bil spent. Well, $29 bil divided by $92,000 is 193,000 jobs created or saved. Of course, they didn't subtract the 467,000 jobs lost in June!

VooDoo math, VooDoo economics, Idiots and liars in charge! way to go, Obama voters.

The republican stimulous package of 2002 now looks like pure gold when compared to the progressive stimulous package of 2009. Clearly America's media has fallen to an all new low and full of agenda driven hacks.

"Fiscally-stressed states are using their stimulus dollars to satisfy immediate needs rather than undertake longer-term reforms. "

This, by no means, constitutes a mis-use of the funds that were allocated to them. There are immediate needs that must be addressed and those issues are being handled first...that's what makes them immediate. I think we need to give stim-pack 1 more time to do its thing. We, The People can be SO impatient

The stimulus package is working better than most conservatives want to admit. Maybe unemployment is still rising, but without the package, unemployment would be sharply increasing. Unfortunately, republicans are more concerned in destroying Obama than they are concerned in helping the country.

HAHA....CNN shuts down comments after obtaining at least 100 negative comments on the article:

"GOP slams Obama stimulus as ineffective, wasteful.."

Typical censoring of a story; trying to entice liberal support by playing the numbers games with posts; always biased and slanted...

In actuality, Obama supporters are losing their "party hats," at a rapid pace. The liberals are seeing for themselves that Obama's a fraud...

President Obama's fans who seem to turn comments about every article into I hate Republicans don't seem to have many comments on this article.

The stimulus is a great idea. It is what we did during the great depression. During the depression ww2 started for which we turned the auto factories into bomber assembly lines. It was the largest government works program. This spawned economic growth. along with better regulations. So basic econ 101 is supply and demand. We certainly have a lot of supply, but people are without jobs or scared to loose there jobs so demand is low. Our government is creating demand. Spending money on things we need, like better roads, more efficient schools, providing food assistance to those who can not afford it ( which is really stimulative. for every dollar spend on food stamps we get 1.53 on return) Its spending without a world war.

Will it work? I'm not sure, but doing nothing has failed already. so doing more of the same is not going to produce different results. Bush 41 lost an election because he raised taxes. he knew that he had to, which by raising them laid the groundwork for Clinton to give us a budget surplus and end the recession of the 80ies. The currant job losses are still high, but have been cut by half the numbers we were seeing a few month ago. Homes sales are higher than expected too.

I must ask, if we did have the need to turn our manufacturing companies into war assembly lines, would the dems be called socialist. Could it be done in todays partisan hostile environment?

Maybe if taxes weren't cut during a time of War we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe if we didn't start a war with a country that never attacked us we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe if after the international community gave us support after 9/11 and we subsequently burned those bridges, we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe if greed wasn't allowed to run unchecked we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe if we had a president that didn't spend years on vacation, we wouldn't be in this mess.

But, no, it's all Obama's fault. I love how short some of your memory spans are – boohoohoo, the dems are ruining my country. Were you sleeping for eight years or what?

Hmm, Early-childhood education? Wasn't that once called parenting? It is absolutely amazing how government has to constantly fix problems they have caused. I wish Washington would just slow down, get out of panic mode and do what is right- not simply just do something!

I don't know about the other bankrupt states, but here in California there are so many 'absolutes' in the budget, required by the state's CONSTITUTION!!, that the Governor only has about 15%of the budget that he can work with to get the numbers down.
No one here wants more taxes. (Get that, Congress?) Ooops, I forgot, one of our Assembly leaders, a Democrat, scolded the Republicans for being against 'increasing revenue' – I guess she thinks the voters will be fooled into agreeing with her. Nope. We know better. No matter how you gussy it up – taxes are taxes.
You can call a skunk a rose, but it will still smell bad.

@ Margaret -

face it, you got duped....by all the liberal politicians...how'd you like that "Hope and Change?"

I love these loony fringe "stop spending money is the only answer" comments. What world do you live in?

With all your fawning over the "free market" you should know you don#t get something for nothing.

The stimulus program is an INVESTMENT in our future, and is meant to be spent over the next 2 years.

Anyone who thinks you can turn around 8 years of neglect in a mere 6 months obviously has no idea what they are talking about.

State "Immediate needs": Interpreted from the government-speak means satisfying the State employees endless demands for more money and less work. The ONLY industry in this country without lay-offs or wage cuts is the GOVERNMENT industry.

You know that person at the DMV who can't be bothered to wait on you and the other 75 people in line? Or those postal employee who are too busy yakking with each other to even notice you've come in? THEY are the ones getting your dough and condemning your kids to endless deficits.

Wake up, America! You're being robbed to buy Union votes for the Obamessiah in 2012.

I don't know why states would lay off teachers and then use the stimulus money to build a new school?!?! Preventing layoffs does help the economy (less spent on unemployment benefits, people with jobs buy stuff, children aren't overloaded into classrooms, etc...) Ideally, I would love to see the new projects, but if a state was building a new school and laying off teachers at the same time everyone would be screaming.

The Jobloss Recovery. Bush was pilloried for a job-less recovery. the great stimulus is producing a job-loss recovery.

projects such as building new schools and expanding early-childhood education.

How can you build a new schools when you have Governors like that cheating Standford refusing the money. It was his state that needed a new school. Sara Palin refusing the engery money. Please stop all the madness with your lies.

The government should not be spending this money to prop up other goverment jobs. WHen will these idiots learn the world doesn't revolve around them. Cut Spending now ! Let's pull all the undistributed and unspent funds back to DC and rethink this plan.

Sounds like we got a lot of folks that missed their naptime today. My, my, what a snippy lot !!!

Some of you dems & liberals here are pretty naive.

You actually let the republicans make you think twice about who you voted for.

Are you kidding me? Remember McCain?

Now, imagine if HE was our president.

Obama's policies are exactly what we need, we are changing the country indeed.

Some of you just don't have the patience to simply WAIT for these changes to bear fruit.

Get a grip people. Capitalism is over, that's what we are changing, remember?

Stop believing every thing you read. It is a straight lie. In our state, the money is being spending on infrastuctions projects and our just starting the bidding process. How I know, is becasue I work in our Economic Development office where the money have been filter. Lies, LIes, and more Lies.

Keep watching Repubs, and see what is going to happen with the economy and with president Obama and the democrats that work with him. Without a doubt God is in control and no matter how you view it. "All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose" So just keep watching and you will soon see how things will be worked out. but the glory will go to God who will work thru our president. If God is for you, He's worth more than the whole world against you.

Obama is running up very small deficits compared to Reagan and Bush. Reagan tripled the national debt ($1 trillion to $3 trillion). Bush1 increased it by another $1.5 trillion. Bush increased it by $5 trillion. Now the debt is about $11 trillion. About 75% of that amount was run up during good economic times under "fiscally responsible" Republican administrations. Obama is now spending money trying to stimulate the economy, during bad times, which makes sense.

Conservatives are like the teenager who took the family car on an unauthorized joy ride. Now the car is under 4 feet of water in the neighbor's swimming pool. The teenager says to his parents, "This is all your fault. If you had hidden the car keys where I coudn't find them, you wouldn't have gotten us into this mess!"

@ Trade Freedom for Security

It's been a government for the politicians for the last 50 years.

I'd forgotten what it was like to be a government for the people. Look at the wars between Dems and Reps, all so they can secure their reelections.

Politicians haven't represented the people in a long,long time. It's all about them padding their pockets and their connections with special interests and lobbyists in Washington.

Jon in CA – Idiotic, powergrabber and completely stupid CALIFORNIAN politicians have put their, and yours, state in the mess it is now. Don't blame just the Dems. and besides, still wishing that we go deeper and deeper into the hole GWBush put us instead of suggesting anything that is at least remotely possible to be done? You betcha!!!!

Which states, which governors? Detail matters, CNN.

This isn't surprising....receiving the money for one thing, and then stuffing entitlement coffers under the cloak of deception.....the best part is yet to come; when the bulk of the money, scheduled for release in the latter part of Obama's term, is released to "communities," and then the "community organizers," get to divvy up the loot...

in other words, OBama's going to be buying votes for himself with our tax dollars come 2011-2012. The stimulus money was for stimulating his campaign....liberals are so easily fooled. ACORN, Center for American Progess, all the cronies will have their hands stuck out, and will receive funds under some bogus charter like "community improvement projects..." then, as with the first election, they'll but votes for Obama...the only difference this time is it will be OUR money buying the white house instead of Soros' money.

Really? For how long? Do we keep just shoveling money until we bankrupt 10 generations of our posterity? How about a real solution?

Well that is easly solved. Take now, let the other guy pay later. Most of them wont be i office

Okay, wait a minute, you are actually reporting that the stimulus is WORKING!!! There must be some mistake.....

In response to those that blame the states/Governors of those states, here's some basic information. Most states (maybe all by now) MUST work with balanced budget. They make their yearly budget assuming that a certain amount of money will come from within the state and a certain amount will come from the feds.....when the president (bush) cuts back on money going to the states to fund a lie (war), and runs the country into ground in every other way possible, the monies counted on by the states, therefore their individual budgets, go into the toilet.

Sorry to disappoint with factual information

These states need to trim their own budgets and quit wasting our money. We did not need early education, head start, pre k and all the other bloated programs, (some of which amount to nothing more than free babysitting and lunches) when we were in school to succede in life.
On the Rahm thread that got cut off quickly, maybe he has some sense after all, leave healthcare alone you idiots

Well libs, where are you now? You bashed Bush for no oversight on TARP, now the Democratic Congress and Democratic president (small 'p' on purpose) rushed a flawed bill through and failed to provide any oversight. Where is your outrage? Republicans warned you but were branded the party of 'no'. Now there's no one except yourselves to blame. Stimulus 2, NO WAY! And these are the people you want to run health care?

Well, duh here folks. When you give people handouts, they are going to misuse it, look at Welfare. I'm sorry, but if the Dems allow another stimulus, they are kicking them selves out of Congress.

How about we take back the unspent money and pay down the National Debt thats reached 80% of the GDP!??

Hmm, had they did this the way I told them to do this, we would not be having this problem. I knew I should have run for President. LOL. You have to bail the middle class working American people out. We are the ones who spend the money that matters. We can pay mortgages because none of the programs work for me, or probably any of us, we can pay home equity loans that we should not have been approved for, we could pay those sky-rocketing gas and electric bills, etc. You bailed out companies that failed, with some bullcrap that the American people own now. We don't want that crap. We the American people want some money so we can get our heads above water, we are trying to keep what we have.

Time for stimulous package 2. And quick! So we can stop unemployment at 10%!!

America now has a government of the politicians, by the politicians, for the politicians.

There is an easy fix for this....just pull the money back, they didn't want it anyway.

Hasn't done California much good has it. Need more TARP funds Arnold??

No doubt the stimulus money will be mis-used. Predictable. It will wind up in the hands of ACORN, Unions, and George Soros.

Is this the excuse they are trying to pass off as to why their pork filled spending project didn't do anything to stimulate the economy? Nice try, we're not falling for it!

What is so economically "stimulating" about using taxpayer money to fund business as usual? And wasn't the republican governor of some state chastized for suggesting that he used the stimulus funds to address shortfalls in his state budget?

What has changed?????

How about cutting spending?

At my house, when we're out of money, we not only cut additional spending, we cut back existing expenditures, too... often eliminating them.

Hey Liberals –

Idiotic California Democrats have dug my state into a $30 Billion deficit ... but I want YOU to pay for it with your tax dollars!!

Bhaaaa ha haaaaa

I can't WAIT until the moment Universal Healthcare is dead – because there isn't enough money due to the fact mismanaged states (NY, CA, etc) had to be bailed out.

Priceless!!

This Stimulus Un-Plan seems to be working Only for Nobama – You keep on FLYING – around the globe, boy, with family and keep SKEERING those Iranians!!!! Betcha they'e quivering with your new non-bowing ?strategy????