John Stossel
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  • November 14, 2009 09:31 PM EST by John Stossel

    The Magic Lawnmower

    As news comes out about how the stimulus money has been spent, and the “jobs” alleged to have been “created,” we taxpayers should feel like rubes at a carnival.

    Hot Air's Ed Morrissey has been doing a good job compiling "Porkulus fantasy jobs" created or saved. He gives the New York Times credit for unearthing this one:

    In June, the federal government spent $1,047 in stimulus money to buy a rider mower from the Toro Company to cut the grass at the Fayetteville National Cemetery in Arkansas. Now, a report on the government’s stimulus Web site improbably claims that that single lawn mower sale helped save or create 50 jobs.

    Toro now says attributing 50 jobs to one magical mower was an error. That seems to be a pattern.

    The owner of a Kentucky shoe store sold the government $900 worth of boots. Exasperated at all the online paperwork he had to fill out, he wrote that the 9 workboots had created 9 jobs.

    Morrissey blames the errors on the complicated process companies have to navigate to get stimulus money.

    They have no choice but to declare a number of jobs saved and created when receiving stimulus funds, and usually have to either use White House formulas or just guess at numbers. In this case, it took eight hours for the recipients of the contract to figure out how to account for $900, hardly a salute to efficiency. (They only found out later that they weren’t required to report it at all.)

    If selling Uncle Sam a few pairs of boots is that complicated, imagine the bureaucracy involved when a government plans your next surgery.

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beabet

what i would like to know is where the money is really going. since the districts in each state is making up the number of districts that they have and they say it cost about five hundred thousand dollars for each job that it created.

November 21, 2009 at 12:25 pm

Denny Seilheimer

Small business as I know it thrives, makes a profit, and hires employees (new jobs) when consumers purchase our products or services. When will substantial tax free stimi checks be sent to the citizens of the U.S. so they can then spend part or all of this money as they wish on consumer goods and services which is essential to maintain, expand,and keep small business alive?

November 16, 2009 at 11:30 am

Bob Y

Lieutenant John a Magic lawnmower. They could throw in a box of chocolate and we could get another 50 to 100 jobs. Just like momma said you never know what you’re going to get. Forest Gump

November 16, 2009 at 11:14 am

Tag44

Thanks for the post and for sharing the very resourceful information here.

November 16, 2009 at 6:40 am

Ricky Henderson

Investors needed to start an online business for students graduating high school with no hope for the future. Economics/trickledown, Investing in gold or silver. We will fund the class until the business course is concluded and the students keep the business we build for them.

November 15, 2009 at 10:55 pm

Kevin

If this one lawnmower created 50 jobs, this doesn't speak well for the quality of a Toro. I can only assume the 50 jobs were created to repair said lawnmower!

November 15, 2009 at 8:09 pm

Troy

wait until we get the magic heathcare...that will save a gazillion trillion dollars and great a trillion gazillion jobs. that god we have the govt or i am not sure what we would do.

November 15, 2009 at 7:28 pm

Mike

John, here's some more fuel from today's front page of The Detroit Free Press. Looks like those media people might actually be coming around. http://www.freep.com/article/20091115/NEWS15/311150005/1318/Where-are-the-jobs-from-federal-stimulus-money?

November 15, 2009 at 7:05 pm

B. Hawkins

With all of the discussion regarding varying proposals for so-called "health reform" in congress, the most important point in my opinion that is not being discussed by either side is the fact that congress had as usual exempted themselves from the program. It will be our program, not theirs. What's good for the goose should be good for the gander. If they don't use the system, why should we? They have no credibility unless they vote No! Period!

November 15, 2009 at 3:01 pm

PeteR..

The Obama Presidency and the Democratic majorities in congress are disintegrating right before our eyes at an alarming pace. Had I known this, I would have voted for Obama instead of McCain. Everything they touch is turning to ca-ca. I thought they would turn to the middle at least a little. I had no idea they could be this stupid. They have become a boon for conservatives and libertarians.

November 15, 2009 at 12:27 pm
(1 Reply)

doug p

finally a fellow Libertarian; like our enlightened founding fathers

November 15, 2009 at 9:03 am

About this Web Site

  • John Stossel joined FOX Business and FOX News in October 2009. His show, Stossel, airs on the Fox Business Network on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET

    He is the New York Times best-selling author of Give Me A Break and Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity. His "Give Me a Break" commentaries take a skeptical look at a wide array of issues, such as education, the economy, parenting, and more.

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