Still more “jobs created or saved” lies and errors

After the Associated Press broke the left-leaning media’s cone of silence about the Administration errors and/or lies regarding jobs “created or saved” with so-called “stimulus” money, other would-be journalists and even Democratic politicians have found a bit of courage and are castigating the reported statistics.

On Monday, ABC News reported more than $100 million in spending and hundreds of “jobs created” in congressional districts which do not exist, both in the US and in territories such as the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Investors Business Daily calls it simply “Stimulus Fraud.”

The Administration has deleted at least 60,000 jobs “created or saved” so far from their prior reports — roughly 10% of the total.  And that’s probably just a start.  The Washington Examiner has already mapped out more than 75,000 bogus job claims.  It’s an admission of such egregious errors that even Rep. David Obey (D-MI), the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is slamming the White House: “The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes.”  He added “Whether the numbers are good news or bad news, I want the honest numbers and I want them now.”  I’m guessing he’d much prefer them if they were good news for the Democrats, but they won’t be.  That said, I applaud Mr. Obey for his accurate criticism of the Administration, something far too few Democrats have been willing to do.

Republican congressman Darrell Issa (CA) sent a letter to the Chairman of the “Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board, Earl Devaney, with this question and suggestion: “Are you able to certify personally that the number of jobs reported as ‘created/saved’ on www.recovery.gov is accurate and auditable? If you are unable to do so, will you commit to incorporating some kind of qualifying information such as an asterisk or footnote to accompany the presentation of this information, warning visitors to the web site that the information is no accurate and auditable?”

Nobody should be surprised that the government is either incapable of managing data or telling the truth or both.  After all, what do you want from a government web site which cost $18 million just for its latest redesign?

At some point…and that point might be now…the Administration’s claims of jobs “created or saved” will become a joke, even among Democrats.  I’m sure Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will attempt to quote recovery.gov statistics with a straight face, but nobody will take them seriously.

Of course, an administration which almost seems to make being a tax cheat a requirement for a high-ranking position should not be expected to have high standards when it comes to emphasizing the truth.  What’s needed now is for enough of the kool-aid drinking Democrats and open-minded independents to begin to recognize these people for what they are: scheming statists for whom the end (government control of everything) justifies any means necessary.