More Stimulus Job Numbers

Today's Union Leader provides another example of the government growing power of the stimulus bill. Despite a somewhat rosy headline ("State's stimulus benefit put at 3,007 jobs") the devil was in the details:

[Stimulus Czar Bud Fitch] said he favors a method that shows closer to 1,862 jobs were created or saved, based on an assumption that the jobs being counted are full-time and run for a full year. Fitch calculated that ARRA funds have paid for nearly 3.9 million hours of work since money began flowing in the spring.

So far, New Hampshire has taken in grants and contracts worth $407 million from a total of $965 million that has been authorized to date. The funds include money used in state government, aid to local school districts and nearly $20 million in a $25 weekly add-on to unemployment benefits. ...

Fitch's report shows that the bulk of jobs affected by ARRA funding are in education, with 2,041 jobs created or saved under the OMB formula.

Another 745 are in government agencies.Despite the hectic pace of road construction around the state, the formula shows only 116 jobs saved or created under stimulus funding.

At best, then, the numbers show that we are averaging $135,000 per each job saved or created, much worse if we base the math off of Fitch's more conservative estimate.

Even worse, NowHampshire.com reports:

President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly known as the stimulus act, created or saved only 221 private sector jobs between February 17th and September 30th NowHampshire.com has learned. ...

According to a report issued on Tuesday by Orville “Bud” Fitch, Governor John Lynch’s designated “stimulus czar,” the stimulus has financed 3,872,686 hours of work in the Granite State. However, the huge majority of the “Full-Time Equivalent” jobs appended to those hours – around 93% of all stimulus jobs, in fact — are government jobs through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

The Geography of Job Losses

A really interesting, and concerning, look at employment trends over the last five-plus years. Click here for the full animation.

Banks, Wall Street, & President Obama

Today's Washington Post today examines further instances of big bank executives receiving perks and bonuses funded by taxpayer bailouts:

Even as the nation's biggest financial firms were struggling and the federal government was spending hundreds of billions of dollars to save many of them, the companies as a group were boosting the perks and benefits they pay their chief executives.

The firms, accounting for more $350 billion in federal bailout funds, increased these perks and benefits 4 percent on average last year, according to an analysis of corporate disclosures filed in recent months.

Some chief executives, such as Kenneth D. Lewis of Bank of America and Jeffrey M. Peek of CIT Group, the major small-business lender now on the brink of bankruptcy, each received about $100,000 more than a year earlier for personal use of corporate jets. Others saw an increase in the value of chauffeured services, parking or personal security.

Ralph W. Babb Jr., chief executive of Dallas-based lender Comerica, was compensated for a new country club membership, with an initiation fee and dues of more than $200,000. GMAC Financial Services chief executive Alvaro de Molina benefited from a $2.5 million payment from his company to help cover his personal tax bill.

And despite consistently railing against these practices, President Obama is headed to New York tonight to get some of that money back, in the form of a check made out to the Democrat's campaign committee (emphasis ours):

At separate events in New York City, the president will raise money both for Bill Owens, a Democrat trying to win a special election in an upstate New York congressional district, and for the Democratic National Committee. The national party fundraising event alone is expected to generate between $2 million to $3 million.

Beyond a $30,400-per-couple dinner for the DNC, Obama will attend a health care rally with tickets starting at $100. His comments at that event will be pumped live via webcast to house parties around the nation, where supporters plan to call voters and ask them to lobby Congress to pass a health care reform bill.

The scale of the DNC fund-raiser has raised some eyebrows, given that executives from firms who benefited from the administration's bailout may be attending the event.

Last weekend, top administration officials criticized the size of Wall Street bonuses. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told CNN that "Wall Street is back doing what Wall Street did."

The New York Times reported Tuesday that about half-dozen bankers from financial giants like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup that received federal money are expected to attend the fundraiser.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told NBC's TODAY show on Tuesday that Obama's attendance is "one more example of the gap between his rhetoric and what happens in reality."

Ovide Lamontagne Speaks at the STEWARD Chowderfest

Former GOP Gubernatorial Nominee and attorney Ovide Lamontagne speaking at the STEWARD Chowderfest.

Kelly Ayotte Speaking at the STEWARD Chowderfest

Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte speaking at the STEWARD Chowderfest (h/t Granite Grok).

Sean Mahoney Speaking at STEWARD Chowderfest

Businessman Sean Mahoney speaking at the STEWARD Chowderfest (h/t: Granite Grok)

Jim Bender Speaking at the STEWARD Chowderfest

Businessman Jim Bender addressing the crowd at the STEWARD Chowderfest.