Projections can be lofty and statistics can be hard to prove, especially when they pertain to government programs. For that, we have long been skeptical about the White House’s claim that the stimulus will “save and create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.” “Save and create” is an ambiguous phrase, and 3.5 million is an ambitious number for a slow-moving program.

Furthermore, according to the Associated Press, since the president is using a “misused formula” to claim that the stimulus has created 150,000 jobs so far, the numbers are misleading and cannot be verified: Read the rest of this entry »

A recent poll suggests that some Americans are losing patience with President Obama’s stimulus package. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, 52% of respondents feel the stimulus package will succeed in improving the economy. The latest results compare to an approval rating of 59% just two months ago:

The falloff since April cuts across partisan lines. Confidence in the package’s effectiveness has dropped from 81 percent to 73 percent among Democrats and from 32 percent to 26 percent among Republicans. Among independents, it has dropped from 56 percent to 50 percent. What was once a clearly positive assessment of the program among independents (56 to 39 percent) is now an almost even split (50 to 47 percent).

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