Jobs Saved or Created …. In Fake Congressional Districts

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President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan was touted as the life saver our economy needed, and there was such urgency to pass this bill to help create and save the jobs of hard working Americans. Well the stimulus plan definitely worked in Arizona’s 15th Congressional District 15 where federal taxpayers spent $761,420 in stimulus funding and 30 jobs were reportedly created. One problem with Arizona’s CD 15 – it doesn’t exist. Arizona has only eight Congressional Districts.

Arizona’s fake congressional district wasn’t an isolated incident. There are reports from multiple non-existent congressional districts all over the United States and US Territories. The Associated Press and 11 newspapers (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe, Sacramento Bee, USA Today, Las Vegas Sun, Detroit Free Press, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution) reported more than 10 percent of jobs claimed to be “created or saved” are doubtful or imaginary.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3.3 million jobs have been lost since the stimulus bill passed. A review of the reported job creation on the Web site www.recovery.gov by the Associated Press noted that reported vs. actual job numbers were inflated by as much as 10 times the actual amount. One example – the Federal Communications Commission reported 4,231 jobs. The actual number is 1,000 jobs. In the State of Florida, the Child Care Association in Brevard County reports $98,669 spent to create 129 jobs, but in reality gave a cost-of-living-adjustment to 129 of their current employees.

How could such a landmark bill with lots of press receive such little oversight and care?