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New White House spin: Stimulus not designed to ... stimulate

... Turns out the $787 billion "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" (AARA) was not designed for full economic recovery, but rather to "stabilize" the downturn. That's the word from White House officials today, who held off-camera briefings with reporters on how the AARA is working so far.

"This legislation was designed to cushion the downturn," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. "That's why we have always talked about this as one function of economic recovery."

When pressed about the change in terminology, Gibbs said he was not trying to temper expectations after the fact. "I can probably find 15 or 20 occasions when I said this in the lead up," Gibbs said, explaining that he had always defined the AARA as part of a "multi-legged stool." ...

... In the near term, various factors should help to stem the downturn and eventually increase overall production and lead to employment growth. Most obviously, the ARRA provides $787 billion of fiscal stimulus spread primarily over the next two years. This fiscal stimulus takes a number of forms: tax cuts for working families and businesses; protection of the most vulnerable through programs such as extended unemployment compensation; direct government spending on infrastructure, energy efficiency projects, and other public investments; and fiscal relief for state governments to help maintain key services. Taken together, the various forms of fiscal stimulus are expected to provide powerful upward pressure on aggregate demand and to aid recovery. ...

Translation? The White House has just about given up hope that Porkulus will show any positive upward pressure this year, which is no great surprise, since most of the spending happens in year two - and most of that will not be a stimulus as much as a wish list of liberal fantasies. Unfortunately, they sold it as a short-term solution to unemployment as well as a stimulus. Now that neither have succeeded, they have to spin it as something entirely different.

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