Why do you need stimulus money if the economy has recovered?

i.e. if GDP grows in 2010 will they stop spending?

No of course not, because Democrats like Daniel Gross know darn well its not stimulus spending but just another batch of big government spending unrelated to economic growth.

You're right Tommy. You did miss the point entirely. And I'm guessing by your rhetoric, that's the usual.

It was clearly stated in the article that the amount of money spent so far probably contributed 2-3% towards the growth of GDP in the 2nd and 3rd quarter and that the overall increase in GDP was near 3%. Let me spell it out for you: if there had been no stimulus, there would have been no growth and by definition we'd still be in a recession. So far the stimulus HAS in fact spurred the economy and at a fraction of the total cost of the bill. That doesn't mean you just stop the spending though...that puts workers back out of jobs and the economy will start slipping again. You at least have to continue some of the spending to make sure the economy is on solid ground.

By the metric of unemployment or jobs, the "economy" has shrunk.

It might have shrunk more without the stimulus, whose true cost requires evaluating the impact of the debt and money-supply plus effects on the dollar as well as the fact that govt spending usually results in things that don't pay and wouldn't get done if they had to make profits.

The GDP metric has become an academic vestige -- no longer valid in a de-industrialized economy -- and they adjust it with phony inflation metrics.

If you see a growing economy, you'll have to explain where. GM is almost busted.

a growing economy

i will ignore your dismissal of gdp and direct you to the earnings reports that have come out and will continue coming out that show most companies making a profit for the first time in 18 months.

i am a small business owner in a construction related industry.

i have seen the impact of the stimulus in my bottom line. the construction industry is booming because of the money sent to the states and the school districts which had halted most construction projects back in 08.

i have more work now than i have had since 07.

you also don't understand that it is early to be calling someone a failure when the plan was for the stimulus to be spread over two years.

using your logic, bush was a failure in sept. 01 correct?

Wasn't he?

But it was January.

I don't see why you'd wait for September.

And I didn't say that BO is already a failure or success as Prez.

Unemployment of 10%-20% isn't proof of economic growth. Neither is printing up $Trillions. Nor your own situation. Nor millions of mortgage defaults!

Bill Bonner claims that the DOW P/E is 180.

Obama is the greatest African(-American) in human history.

USA's economy is in the toilet. And our wars. And healthcaresurance. And debts. And the $.

Well, the stimulus has been wonderful for portions of the construction industry, portions of the automotive industry and the financial industry, but their are other industries that it has not helped in any way shape or form. Good for you that you happen to have a small business in a field that the government decided to bail out. How would you feel if you would have been in another field that is going under?

you make a valid point.

my answer is the multiplier effect.

because a portion of the economy is recovering, it spills over into others.

for example, because i am hiring, my new employees need uniforms so i order them from a local retail outlet.

my new employees need tools so they end up at home depot.

i have more trucks on the road than i did 6 months ago so i am buying more gas.

and so on and so on

And when the government stimulus ends, there will still be too many construction companies.

Considering the amount of infrastructure investment we have to do if we don't want to end up with the infrastructure of a third-world country, we don't have too many construction companies.