The GOP simultaneously notes that less than 10 percent of the money has been spent, yet they are saying that federal spending is a flop. I would think that if the money HAD been spent, and unemployment continued to be growing, then they might have a better argument, but it appears to me that Republicans have undercut their own argument.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090712/ap_on_go_co/us_obama_economy###
Republicans called Obama's $787 billion spending plan a "flop" and said it hasn't fulfilled its hype. They criticized the White House for increasing the federal deficit and doing little to combat an unemployment rate that hit 9.5 percent in June.
"The reality is it hasn't helped yet," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
"Only about 6.8 percent of the money has actually been spent. What I proposed is, after you complete the contracts that are already committed, the things that are in the pipeline, stop it."
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"I do think it is fair to say that the stimulus is a flop," said Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. "The goal that was set when we passed it was unemployment wouldn't rise past 8.5 percent, and what we see now is businesses just aren't hiring. Even the best projections have us losing 750,000 more jobs this year."
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