As I said earlier I think the Ds are wrong not to use unspent stimulus money to fund an unemployment benefits extension. But what the stimulus did is something we will never know. We were shedding jobs at a much faster rate before the stimulus. Would that have improved without the stimulus? Who knows, but it doesn't seem likely. I do know there are a ton of highway projects going on, many funded by TARP funds. How bad would it be if all those construction workers were not working?

Aug 2008: -84,000
Sep 2008: -159,000
Oct 2008: -240,000 <---- Market collapse
Nov 2008: -533,000
Dec 2008: -524,000
Jan 2009: -598,000 <---- Obama inaugurated
Feb 2009: -651,000
Mar 2009: -663,000 <---- ARRA (Stimulus) starts
Apr 2009: -539,000
May 2009: -345,000
Jun 2009: -467,000
Jul 2009: -247,000
Aug 2009: -216,000