President Obama’s $763 billion stimulus was basically free, according to a White House report that said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was so successful that it paid for itself.
“The Recovery Act had at most a minimal impact on the long-run debt — and the additional growth it produced likely further reduced or eliminated its cost,” the White House Council of Economic Advisers reported Monday, the fifth anniversary of the stimulus (original emphasis). “Traditional budget scoring indicates that, because the Recovery Act was temporary, its impact on the long-run fiscal situation was minimal, adding less than 0.1 percent of GDP to the 75-year fiscal gap. This calculation may overstate the true cost of the Recovery Act because the direct output gains it produced are sufficient to cover one-quarter of its projected cost.”
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Tue Feb 18, 2014 10:43 am
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Front Porch Punditry