The $800 Billion Deception

That's the title of this Newsweek article that I highly recommend you read about the stimulus package. Yesterday I received information that Ohio had met the first set of requirements set out by the federal government, which makes this article even more interesting to me since Ohio is reporting some new jobs and job retention already as a result of the stimulus package.

Some things about the stimulus are indeed complicated. How precisely do you measure the number of jobs "saved" when the federal government cuts checks to states, thus allowing them to avoid budget cuts? But some things about the stimulus are quite simple, including its size and the amount of it that has been spent so far.

To begin with, the stimulus was $787 billion, not $800 billion. (Those of you who think there isn't much of a difference, please make out a check for the difference to Daniel M. Gross.) The more egregious error has to do with the timing. Many critics act as if the entire amount has already been spent. They're completely wrong. Even to argue that it's been half-spent, as the Post, does, is only half-right.