Recovery Act Is Working

" Thanks but no thanks that's how the White House responded to a letter from GOP lawmakers who claim that stimulus was quote. Unsuccessful. And they asked for some new ideas like tax cuts for businesses. In response let letter to house majority leader John Boehner White House economic adviser Larry Summers says that the 787. Billion dollar stimulus package is working just fine. And thanks to a quote we want to substantial distance back from the economic events so happily join me now it's. Economic writer for the -- eternal. Editorial page Steve buck it's here tonight so it's basically saying. That that nothing else is needed right that this package is in the works with -- talk about tax cuts you know we're on the way back -- we're gonna get up."

" Yeah the stimulus is working and that's the White House story and they're sticking with that. Are -- it's getting harder to be a harder story to believe with each passing week as we don't see the jobs that were promised. I remember that White House told us the unemployment rate would be less than 8% if we pass the stimulus bill. As you know we're near 10% and what sort of frightening Martha's a lot of economists liberal and conservative think. That it's not gonna get -- below. Nine and a half percent for at least another year and those are catastrophically bad numbers so I I think it's a little hard for the administration to continue. -- cheerleading for a program that in my opinion isn't working it's not creating jobs in fact Martha we've lost about two point eight million jobs since go shovel ready projects. I started Gaza to report -- months ago."

" But wouldn't they say see that you know. You can't prove that there would have been more job creation if they had gotten the GOP written they had cut taxes and given small business news breaks. -- there's a lot of evidence that back at those companies still might not feel loosened up enough to start hiring workers that might still be in the cost cutting."

" Yeah it's it's true -- we we never know what things could you know I could things could be worse if we hadn't passed the stimulus but. It's hard to believe that this has been a big job creator when we continue to lose jobs at a record pace and that you know we lost more jobs. In September as you know that we did didn't July and August so we're we're not even losing last jobs than we were previously. The other thing it was interesting about the Larry Summers -- what he kept talking about how. You know we've got to get back to the policies of the 1990s. And look I'm a big fan of -- what we did in the 1990s we balanced the budget. We did welfare reform act we got that spending under control we cut the gavel this that's. And in fact. The problem with Larry Summers argument is we're doing all the opposite things right now Martha we're we're running the deficit through the rope. We're we're putting more people on welfare we're not real reform and while there and the president must increase the capital gains tax so. The policies that worked in the ninety's were moving away from right now on my opinion."

" it was during that period that we have the welfare to work programs that there was a limit on the time for those kind of programs and the idealist that it give people incentive. To try to take jobs that were out there and and to improve the situation why isn't Larry Summers you know remember that."

" Well he was there in the in the Clinton Years he was shot obviously Bill Clinton's Treasury Secretary. -- we get a good combination back that Bill Clinton in the White House and Republicans running congress they kept. Control of each other than does the budget did not go up we actually had a budget surplus at the end of those years the problem is now we've -- you know what it. Basically Barack Obama inherited a trillion dollar deficit and it's basically increased it to one point six trillion and that the problem I have with this fiscal policy. I'm Martha is there's no exit strategy if you look at that projections were supposed to be running trillion dollar deficits for at least the next ten years those are pretty frightening levels of debt especially if you know could you cover this the dollar has been collapsing and the last three or four weeks that's a frightening proposition -- that they sent UST thank you very much for seasons to park he's got to take -- day."