$42K Per Questionable Job 'Saved'- That's the Record in Michigan on Stimulus

Buried in the story Stimulus projects under fire I saw this gem:

But supporters counter that the stimulus funds have had a major impact. Out of $7.6 billion awarded, Michigan has received $3 billion for projects that have led to 70,000 jobs, according to the Michigan Economic Recovery Office.

Let's do some quick math- 3,000,000,000/70,000. It equals $42,857.

So you work hard and produce a certain good or perform some sort of service. For your labor and effort skill, the government comes along and taxes you, and the more labor or effort or skill you put in, the more then government taxes you. That tax money is collected by a government agency, housed in a nice office building staffed by government agents paid a salary higher to one they would be paid if they worked in the private sector. These agents take that tax money and put it into an account. Elected officials (nice offices, nice salaries, lifetime benefits) then vote to take that money (plus money from your children and grandchildren, borrowed on interest from China) and spend it building roads or bridges or conducting studies or science or something. That money now goes to a government agency (nice offices, high salaries) which debates what to do with all that money. After much deliberation, they decide to spend it on such things as a professor  getting $145,000 to take students to Africa or a University of Michigan scientist getting $500,000 for a study on people's impact on the environment in Nepal. Then these bureaucrats put the money into accounts for each of these products.

By this point, the money has been cycled through many government agents and agencies, each one taking a cut of the money, and in reality very little of that money makes it to the 'shovel-ready' project. That explains why it costs $42K for the government to create a single job in Michigan, a job that performs actions that are questionable at best.

Any Congressman that voted in favor of the stimulus bill should be thrown out of office for their role in the mismanagement and wastefulness of public funds, and you can find this data at http://nationalrepublicantrust.com/PelosiIndex/Table_complete.php and see where your Congressman voted on key legislation. For their stupidity, lack of knowledge, and failure to lead our nation they deserve to be removed from their jobs. Spending $42K in taxpayer money to save a single job is not an efficient use of government money.

For those who are interested in learning more, check out Guide to the Stimulus: The Definitive Desk Reference to the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009.