$1.3 Trillion Cash Flushing Endeavor Working... or Something

Joey gets all misty when he thinks about the success of the stimulus.

My successor, Joey Plugs, has an Op Ed over at the Terrorist Times. In it, he claims that as a result of quick action on the part of PeeBo and hisself, we were brought back from 'the precipice.' He claims that because of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the sky high monthly unemployment claims of 700,000 experienced before it was enacted have plummeted. The whole basis of his piece is that without the quick action of the executive and legislative branches of government, we'd be in hell right now.

Let's examine the miracle afforded us by PeeBo and Plugs!
Unemployment claims in January 2009 were 598,000 which have fallen to 467,000, effectively 22%. The overall national unemployment percentage has gone from approximately 7.5% in January 2009 to 9.5% in June 2009.
A report entitled 'The Employment Situation: June 2009' states:

"The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 433,000 over the month to 4.4 million."

In fact, from January all unemployment duration measurements except the 'Less than 5 weeks' category increased. Total unemployment for this period jumped from 16.4 Million to 22.9 Million a loss of nearly 6.5 million additional jobs... So why the back patting by Joey Plugs?

Joey then goes on to explain the ARRA so that he can 'set the record straight.' If there are two things we can all agree upon, it's that Joey ain't nothin' if he ain't a straight talker and Joey speaks for everyone in the Administration! He claims that 1/3 of the 787 Billion Dollar stimulus (before interest) goes to tax cuts, and that 95% of the American public has experienced a tax cut as a result of it's passage. Question: Who in their right mind would believe that as a result of the Government spending money, the public has received a tax cut?

Let's see, the government gets its money through taxation of the citizenry. A tax cut is the government allowing me to keep the money that it would normally take as a tax. So... where exactly did this money come from? I mean it's impossible to have the government both take money from me and allow me to keep it at the same time. Those two things are mutually exclusive.

Two nuggets of truth in Joey's piece; unemployment benefits have been extended for the unemployed, and money is being spent on roads. However, he also claims that rural water systems are being improved... Has he ever been to California?! Has he ever heard of the Delta? Has he heard about the major dairy owners who have committed suicide just this year due to many economic reasons one of which being access to water?

Joey then goes on to tout the Recovery.gov website. That's be the same website that disclosed the $2 Million 2lb. ham purchase earlier this week...

See, here's the overall problem with Joey's Op Ed piece, even he doesn't believe the horsepucky he's peddling. He spends nearly the whole piece extolling the outstanding job they have done with this debacle after he told ABC that the White House had misread the economy just three short weeks ago. So first he goes out and admits they didn't know what the f#@% they were doing, then just three short weeks later SUCCESS!

Exit question: If the stimulus is working so great, why do we need another one?