The dog days of Michigan’s ‘Recovery Summer’

This OpEd by Gretchen Hamel, executive director of Public Notice, ran in the Holland Sentinel and the Detroit News.

Washington has dubbed this “Recovery Summer.” As part of a nationwide tour, President Obama will be in Holland today to tout accomplishments of the economic “stimulus” bill.

Regrettably, the legislation’s impact has left Michiganians with little to cheer about.

Washington had promised their trillion-dollar “stimulus” plan would kick start the sluggish economy, increase employment and drive growth. Michigan wasn’t short-changed: The state’s share of the money awarded so far (3.5 percent) is greater than its share of the population (3.2 percent).

Yet the stimulus hasn’t made much difference in the state’s economy. The latest unemployment rate was 13.6 percent — it was 12 percent in February 2009, when the legislation was signed into law. In short, Michigan has lost 112,707 jobs since the “stimulus” was enacted. Holland alone has lost 3,000 jobs.

As troubling as these numbers are, they don’t tell the whole story of the state’s employment situation. Since February 2009, Michigan’s total work force shrank by more than 40,000 workers. These former workers either left the state or became so discouraged that they simply gave up trying to find a job. This is hardly the sign of a healthy economic recovery.

The latest report from the Department of Labor showed that the nation lost another 125,000 jobs last month. The national unemployment rate improved, but according to experts, only because even more workers dropped out of the work force entirely. Since the “stimulus” bill went into effect, the country has lost 2.3 million jobs.

Sadly, much of the money spent here, and in other states, was wasted. It’s hard to imagine federal officials even attempting to portray as a great boost to the economy stimulus-funded projects such as $3.8 million appropriated for the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy — a group dedicated to finding a new use for the Detroit Tigers’ former stadium. This is despite the fact that much of the ballpark was demolished in 2008.

Certainly, some of the money Washington has sent helped protect government jobs. In fact, federal jobs in Michigan rose by 15,000 between February 2009 and May 2010. These are jobs that put food on tables, but will not necessarily jumpstart a recovery. After all, government workers’ wages have to be paid for with taxpayers’ money. With high unemployment and little economic growth, bigger deficits are the obvious result of a shrunken Michigan work force trying to pay the higher taxes necessary to support a growing army of government workers.

Incredibly, Washington has made clear the intention to continue its spending spree. Despite the dismal performance of the first “stimulus” bill, which added a trillion dollars to the already crushing-levels of U.S. debt, many politicians insist taxpayers give them another shot. Essentially, Washington is asking Michiganians — and all U.S. taxpayers — to bless its plan to borrow even more money, and distribute it to states and localities for pet projects.

Why should anyone expect a different result from more of the same failed “stimulus” policies? It’s certainly a fair question to ask the plan’s proponents when they’re in town today.

It’s only natural that politicians try to put a positive spin on the economy and their incredibly expensive but far-from successful, attempts to spur growth. Acknowledging the truth is the first step toward real progress in jumpstarting the economy.

The facts don’t lie: Washington took, and spent, a lot of hard-earned taxpayer money, but it didn’t work as intended. And the state is a far cry from the “recovery” rhetoric being espoused this summer.

Gretchen Hamel is the executive director of Public Notice, a new independent, bipartisan, non-profit organization dedicated to providing facts and insights on the effect public policy has on Americans’ financial well being. For more information please visit www.thepublicnotice.org.