The White House is responding to requests from state agencies struggling with how to accurately track and report jobs that have been "created or sustained" as a result of the federal stimulus. As reported last week by Face The State, the Colorado Department of Transportation has claimed only 65 jobs - most of them "sustained" - a small drop in the bucket toward Obama's goal of 3.5 million nationwide.
But the guidance offered from Washington serves to further stoke confusion. The White House memo totals a whopping 41 pages in length, replete with graphs, process outlines and lots of new bureaucracy. Rob Nabors, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, told the Wall Street Journal they are really looking for a "simple headcount" of jobs, and to make a best guess as to whether a position would have been created absent the stimulus. If such information can't be determined, states are advised to be conservative and exclude the position from the total count.
On page 18 of the memo, the Obama administration outlines a 9 step, 90 day process for counting jobs, meaning the counting never ends quarter to quarter. The procedure looks more daunting than the Space Shuttle launch sequence.
The White House
Critics say the sometimes vague and very confusing methodology could lead to inaccurate tracking of job growth. CDOT spokesperson Stacey Stegman told Face the State that the reporting process is new to them, having never before required contractors and sub-contrators to report on employees. Either way, the 65 transportation jobs "created or sustained" so far in Colorado are a far cry from Obama's goal of 3.5 million jobs - but it all depends on who's counting, and how.
The Goal of Man
On July 2nd, 2009 Maximonious says:
Do you want to understand this article better?
Do you want to understand what the Obama administration means to America?
Do you want to understand what his motives are?
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Joe-Kelly