This week marked one year since Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, legislation crafted by the Obama administration to address the nation’s ongoing economic crisis. Here’s a look at the bill’s achievements and failings by the numbers. Click on the figure to go to the original source.
Number of jobs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to date: 1.6 million to 1.8 million
Total number of jobs created or saved by ARRA in the 13 Southern states*: 624,000
Estimated number of jobs ARRA will create altogether: about 2.5 million
Percentage of working Americans who got a tax cut under ARRA: 95
Number of transportation construction projects funded by the bill: 12,500
Number of housing units that have been rehabbed or developed as part of federal recovery efforts: 143,422
Jobs lost in February 2009, before ARRA passed: more than 700,000
Jobs lost in December 2009, after ARRA passed: fewer than 200,000
Growth in GDP in the last quarter of 2009, which Moody’s chief economist and former McCain economic advisor Mark Zandi attributed to ARRA: 5.7%
Number of Republican lawmakers who voted against ARRA but later touted its successes: 110
Date on which Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) railed against ARRA, shouting “Where’s the stimulus package?” on the House floor: 7/28/2009
Date on which Kingston’s office sent out press releases bragging that he had secured hundreds of thousands of stimulus dollars for more police officers in his district: 7/28/2009
The official unemployment rate today: 9.7%
The true unemployment rate, including those who have quit looking for work: 17%
Unemployment rate for black Americans: 16.2%
Unemployment rate for individuals earning more than $150,000 a year: 3%
Unemployment rate for those in the lowest income tier: 31%
* AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV
(Photo from Building Trades Unemployment Insurance Rally.)