Report: Stimulus adds jobs in Minnesota

[question everything]

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

From new dishwashers for the Albert Lea School District to a new counterterrorism police force to patrol buses and trains, federal stimulus money is pouring in to Minnesota and has directly preserved or created 11,800 jobs so far, state officials reported Monday.

The state's first comprehensive report on how federal stimulus money is affecting Minnesota showed that while much of the money is going to unemployment benefits and medical assistance payments, millions of dollars are flowing in to projects and programs that range from rebates to consumers who buy energy-efficient appliances to services for the blind.

One project, totaling $5.59 million, will build living quarters at Camp Ripley, the longtime military training base in north-central Minnesota, and install backup power and heating systems at many of the 63 National Guard armories scattered across the state. Nearly $470,000 will go to replace a bridge over the St. Francis River in central Minnesota.


Read more: http://www.startribune.com/local/64003767.html

[4lbs]

1. How long before Pawlenty does the GOP's dirty work and tries to argue this down? (n/t)

.

[neuvocat]

2. When Bachman gives him the talking points.

[question everything]

3. A dilemma. Does he want to follow Reagan's "City on the hill"

with sunny disposition on his run for the GOP ticket in 2012, or continue the doom and gloom that, let's face it, most voters reject?

At least, this is something that we've finally learned with Obama's Hope campaign.

[Abq_Sarah]

4. Okay, I'll bite

How many private sector jobs has the stimulus created? Jobs that are not paid for by taxpayers who are already stretched to the breaking point?

Zero.

[Brickbat]

5. Construction is private-sector.

[Abq_Sarah]

6. Uh...

Those jobs are temporary and being paid for by taxpayers who are already hurting. Taxpayer funded jobs don't drive a recovery. They mask the worst symptoms of a recession.

[question everything]

7. The funds have already been committed

Tax payers have already put these funds aside.

But meanwhile you have individuals with jobs who pay taxes, who may be able to keep their jobs, who spend money in the local economy. Look at this as sustaining local economy until more solid support will come.

[No Elephants]

8. What "more solid support" and from where is it coming?

[mac56]

9. Have you ever worked construction?

It's always "temporary" = seasonal. Especially here in Minnesota.

[iKevin]

10. Statistics

I'd love to see a chart of unemployment trends of states that accepted stimulus vs those who did not.

And you may argue that the tax payer is funding many of these jobs. But think of all the unemployed the tax payers are funding. I'd prefer to have them doing something constructive, rather than unproductive, with those tax dollars.

[Renew Deal]

11. Picture of Camp Ripley