The claims 'are ridiculous': How the federal stimulus plan has done nothing for Michigan

Is it any wonder that an increasing number of Americans don't trust their government to run anything?

Remember the near $800 billion dollar stimulus package that was supposed to be the cure-all for the American economy? Well, it has been an abysmal failure. It has not jump-started the economy or created jobs -- the unemployment rate has only gotten higher.

Why? Because the money didn't go into job creation. It went somewhere else, though no one really knows where.

Look at Michigan and its worst-in-the-nation economy for proof that the stimulus was a total debacle.

Just this morning the Detroit Free Press published a story that said, in essence, that the stimulus practically created ZERO jobs for this state.

From FREEP:

WASHINGTON -- Seven months into the massive federal stimulus program, the vast majority of government grants, contracts and loans in Michigan so far have created or retained virtually no jobs, a Free Press analysis shows.

The analysis also revealed that others who have been promised or have received stimulus money have overstated -- in some cases greatly -- the number of jobs created or protected.

Obama administration and state officials say it's too early to draw conclusions about the overall impact of the $787-billion nationwide program to stimulate the economy and generate jobs. They promise that job growth will follow as more funding arrives.

"It looks to us like the program is unfolding much as we hoped in Michigan," said White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein.

Just as you hoped? That's the single most idiotic statement I've read all year. Come to Michigan Mr. Bernstein and revise your statement.