How Stimulus Money Was Spent

In an effort to jump-start the nation’s economy, Congress in February 2009 passed the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009″ (better known as the “Stimulus”). According to Harry Reid, the Stimulus "will strengthen our economy by creating millions of good-paying jobs here at home; deliver tax relief for 95% of workers and invest in America’s future by fixing our communities’ roads and bridges, improving our children’s education and making our country more energy independent. Our plan also guarantees transparency and accountability to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent wisely."

Here are two examples of how the money was actually spent:

• The University of Indiana (at Bloomington) received, as a result of the stimulus, $423,500 to study “Correct Condom Use.” Yes, you read that correctly: “Correct Condom Use.” And guess how many jobs that program created: zero!
• A. study entitled “Ethnic Differences In Responses To Painful Stimulus” received $712,000. The University of Florida (at Gainsville) got that one. Again, zero jobs were created.

As of the middle of 2012, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that an increase of between 0.2 million and 1.5 million new jobs was created as a result of the stimulus. So, using CBO numbers, at that point, each job created cost somewhere between $540,000 and $4.1 million.