Your Stimulus Dollars at Work: $2 Million Per Job
It’s the largest city audit of stimulus dollars to date, and the results aren’t pretty:
CITY CONTROLLER RELEASES AUDITS OF HOW LOS ANGELES HAS USED FEDERAL STIMULUS MONEY
$111 Million in ARRA Funds Has Only Created 55 Jobs So Far
Continuing her efforts to ensure that taxpayer money is spent efficiently and effectively, City Controller Wendy Greuel released two audits today of how the City of Los Angeles has used American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The audits looked at the how the two departments that have received the largest amount of ARRA funding so far – the Department of Transportation (LADOT) and the Department of Public Works (DPW) – have used those funds and how many jobs were created. Los Angeles becomes the largest City in America to conduct an audit of how ARRA funds have been expended.
DPW has received $70.65 million and created or retained 45.46 jobs, though they are expected to create 238 jobs overall (the fraction of a job created or retained correlates to the number of actual hours works). LADOT has been awarded $40.8 million and created or retained 9 jobs, though they are expected to create 26 jobs overall. Overall, the Departments have received $111 million in federal stimulus funds out of the $594 million the City has been awarded so far and created or retained 54.46 jobs.
$111 million for 55 jobs. That’s $2 million per job.
Even if you look at the number of jobs they expect to create (“or save”), it’s only 264. $111 million for 264 jobs is about $420,454 per job.
Hey, can you guys create a 56th job for me? I could use $2 million.
Failing that, can you return my tax dollars that you wasted?
UPDATE: Thanks to Instapundit for the link, and congratulations to Drew for getting his comment quoted!
55 jobs?
AD - RtR/OS! (318661) — 9/16/2010 @ 5:57 pmI didn’t know The Mayor had so many girl-friends.
I remember joking once that they would have been better served had they sent a check for $50,000 to each and every person in the country.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 6:05 pm$15T, JD?
AD - RtR/OS! (318661) — 9/16/2010 @ 6:14 pmDoesn’t that seem a bit excessive?
Ah, well, for a banana republic, that’s not bad …
SPQR (26be8b) — 9/16/2010 @ 6:19 pmHey, a Trillion here, and a Trillion there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money.
AD - RtR/OS! (318661) — 9/16/2010 @ 6:24 pmAnd soon, bread will be priced by the wheel-barrow – don’t even ask what a gallon of gas will be!
Maybe a tad bit excessive, but I bet it would have been better spent.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 6:26 pmBut, but, the great unwashed are sooooo ignorant, and unaware of what needs to be accomplished.
They have to be guided by our “Great White Fathers” in Washington.
BTW, have you read Doctor Zero over at HotAir?
AD - RtR/OS! (318661) — 9/16/2010 @ 6:32 pmHe distills the Tea Party message to DC down to three words:
No More Control!
I think it would have been more succinct in two:
Butt Out!
It’s almost as if the things they’re buying with that money were made with no jobs. Like magic!
imdw (043f60) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:09 pmHush, idiot.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:11 pmIf you want to make a case that the stimulus worked, do so. If you want to make a case that Barcky has saved or created millions of jobs, do so. As is, you are a gibbering gibbon.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:12 pmNo really. It’s magic.
Although, to be fair, the release did say it was money received — not spent. That tells the tale of stimulus moving too slowly. I’d like to know how much was actually spent.
imdw (8a8ced) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:32 pmSo, you will not, or cannot make the case for it?
I would like to know how much was absorbed into the bureaucracy.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:37 pmQuestion for Patterico or any other person familiar with LA city budgets–are these departments just as inefficient at spending regular city revenue (meaning what the city raises through property, sales and whatever other taxes cities can impose in California)?
imdw @ 11–the figures cite jobs which were “expected to be created”. That would include all money received under the stimulus once it is finally spent, not just what has been spent to date.
kishnevi (3721d8) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:49 pmI would like to know how much was absorbed into the bureaucracy.
would you place a side bet on how many of those 55/264 jobs are bureaucrats’ jobs, as opposed to jobs for folks actually putting down the gravel or whatever those stimulus grants were supposed to go for.
kishnevi (3721d8) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:53 pmSeeing stories like this reinforces my feeling that the Democrats, and especially the White House, have lost the ability to manage the news or their narrative. At this point, they are just reacting to another day of bad news.
I hope the same isn’t true of our foreign policy and the war.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 9/16/2010 @ 7:56 pm“It’s almost as if the things they’re buying with that money were made with no jobs.”
imdw – Like imports!
daleyrocks (940075) — 9/16/2010 @ 8:01 pmI believe we have spent a lot more than that for every enemy eliminated, DRj.
It’s good to be rich. As long as it lasts. I’m counting on the gold prospectors in Idaho to keep us going.
nk (db4a41) — 9/16/2010 @ 8:04 pmCase for what? Hiring unemployed people to do things that have a rate of return greater than the interest rate on T-Bills? What kind of case can be made for that?
imdw (2ed357) — 9/16/2010 @ 8:10 pmCase for your stimulus and that buying and borrowing that you and yours advocated for, some of you even advocated for more. $850,000,000,000+. As is your practice, you dodge, distract, divert, and do basically anything except answer a clear and direct question.
And sock puppet.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 8:39 pmYes, jib-jab. If you believe that the stimulus has been an effective & efficient way to create jobs, then make the case for it.
Icy Texan (f486e9) — 9/16/2010 @ 8:41 pmkishnevi – That metric, applied to the entire stimulus, would not paint a pretty picture. If memory serves, much of the money has gone to local, county, states, and schools, to shore up holes in budgets, allegedly stave off layoffs to police and teachers, etc … What it did not do was stimulate the economy, create goods, services, or jobs.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 8:42 pmI’m absolutely not defending the Stimulus and I actually would become violently ill if I defended Obama, but wasn’t 60 million of this money what DWP rerouted to Caltech, UCLA and USC for Smart Grid Research?
I heard they did that precisely because they didn’t know what to do with it and they money really did fall out of the sky and land on their laps (proving what a goatrope the whole thing was) but at least the argument can be made that it wasn’t pure pork, just 70 – 80% pork.
Kaisersoze (25a652) — 9/16/2010 @ 8:57 pmHey, what about all these nifty green signs all over LA? Think of the jobs building them and sticking them in the ground!
It’s like the feds are having a sign war with your city council members.
Patricia (9c62d9) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:05 pmI am a big fan of the following Obama stimulus success story:
Stimulus Watch : $800K Spent On Teaching African Men To Wash Their Junk
daleyrocks (940075) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:09 pm“… have lost the ability to manage the news or their narrative…”
You know that is the case when they insist on changing the terms that define what is going on;
AD - RtR/OS! (318661) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:12 pmsuch as ‘global climate disruption’ in place of ‘global warming’ – and the previous laugher:
Man Caused Disasters v. Terrorism.
JD–an unemployed government worker is still–unemployed.
However, I was wondering about a comparison to normal LA city expenditures. Are LADOT and LADPW normally this wasteful?
kishnevi (ce4e0f) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:16 pmOf that there is no doubt, kishnevi. But creating government jobs and bureaucracy is not the same as creating an environment where the private sector can grow and create.
JD (8ded14) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:22 pmIf only Ike had spent some money in 1960 teaching African-American men to cover their junk!
Icy Texan (f486e9) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:25 pmI guess that could have read “African men” as well.
Icy Texan (f486e9) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:27 pmI’m counting on the gold prospectors in Idaho to keep us going.
Comment by nk
Do you have any maps??
MD in Philly (5a98ff) — 9/16/2010 @ 9:31 pmthe amount of waste in the LA City government is monumental, and that’s one of the reasons i laughed so hard before i sent this letter to pat.
wendy “the tool” gruel talking about anyone else wasting money is like imdw lecturing someone about being evasive. PKB.
there was a project here in the Valley that someone showed me the Council motion that she seconded for another council crook a few months before she termed out and went to the Controller’s office.
the breakdown of the total was something like $50-60K for materials, $12-15K for office help/planning, and $350K or so for labor…. (government rates)
the best part was that they had scheduled out in front, for a non-emergency area beautification project, over $100K of overtime….
no wonder the city is broke.
Hairy Gollum Reid (fb8750) — 9/16/2010 @ 11:47 pmstupid sock.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 9/16/2010 @ 11:48 pmSorry, but you don’t get the $2 million with the job. It probably pays around $90K including all benefits. What happened to the rest? Overhead, man, overhead and expenses. You have no idea how much overhead and expenses it takes to save or create these jobs, especially for these folks who never created a real job – or worked at one – in their whole lives. ‘s hard out here for a pimp . . .
Adjoran (ec6a4b) — 9/17/2010 @ 12:41 am“It’s almost as if the things they’re buying with that money were made with no jobs. Like magic!”
No magic, actually. They bought congresspeople. Congresspeople can be bought with no job impact whatsoever, because they are manufactured through a process called “human reproduction.”
The reason that this particular transaction is such a muddled and confusing mess is because the normal roles aren’t being played by the normal players. We’re the ones who got screwed this time.
bobby b (4baf73) — 9/17/2010 @ 3:33 amMissouri had a sounding-board for spending ideas at the front end of this loot. I put a proposition together to buy / store gold, silver, and secure it – scattered – in houses throughout our state by willing citizens. The idea is that after the rest of the states pissed their looted paper away, MO would look good to biz’s and our children. They duly came back with something like “go away, weirdo”. Now, right on schedule, we’re broke again and the pensions and services are collapsing. If they’d have followed my plan… gold is now $1250+ and silver $20+.
egoist (e83c57) — 9/17/2010 @ 3:34 am“As is your practice, you dodge, distract, divert, and do basically anything except answer a clear and direct question. ”
It’s almost as if you didn’t understand what rates of return are.
“Yes, jib-jab. If you believe that the stimulus has been an effective & efficient way to create jobs, then make the case for it.”
I’m generally satisfied by what folks like the GAO have said about it.
imdw (043f60) — 9/17/2010 @ 4:47 amSo, mendoucheous it is. Thanks.
JD (594628) — 9/17/2010 @ 6:02 amIt’s almost as if the things they’re buying with that money were made with no jobs. Like magic!
Comment by imdw
How many jobs does it take to make a politician ?
Mike K (11fb04) — 9/17/2010 @ 7:08 amHeck, for $420K per job you could hire those guys from Bell!
Kevin (298030) — 9/17/2010 @ 8:11 amIf you really want a stimulus, cut income taxes in half for a year. Static cost would be $700billion (about the same as the actual “stimulus” bill), except that you’d have a LOT more income reported, both cap gains and regular income, so it wouldn’t be nearly as much.
Of course, “the rich” would do well by this, so Obama couldn’t consider it. Failing was preferable.
Kevin (298030) — 9/17/2010 @ 8:20 amEven if the stimulus worked, and created jobs, it would be bad for the economy in the long term. Obama, Pelosi, and Reid can’t even get the short-term fix right. Your government: Less competent than heroin junkies.
Floyd McWilliams (788e92) — 9/17/2010 @ 8:28 amIMDW, says “Although, to be fair, the release did say it was money received — not spent. That tells the tale of stimulus moving too slowly. I’d like to know how much was actually spent.” Lets go with they received Half of the money that’s $1MILLION per job. When was the last time you spent $300.00 for a $20.00 Hammer or toilet seat? They do, should we trust them with any money???
tom (76a04f) — 9/17/2010 @ 4:31 pmOK, Fullerton got $3 million and created/saved/fantasized 7 jobs.
So LA is way ahead in the waste category, I think.
Recovery in Fullerton?.
Patricia (9c62d9) — 9/17/2010 @ 5:22 pmPatricia, did they dump more into that downtown theatre?
AD-RtR/OS! (cd552c) — 9/17/2010 @ 5:48 pmHiring unemployed people to do things that have a rate of return greater than the interest rate on T-Bills?
Apparently imdw thinks $800 billion in stimulus wasn’t purchased with interest-bearing bonds.
Another Chris (2e9afa) — 9/17/2010 @ 5:55 pmI’m generally satisfied by what folks like the GAO have said about it.
You must really love the U3 and U6 rates right now.
Another Chris (2e9afa) — 9/17/2010 @ 5:56 pmAnother Chris – Apparently, imdw doesn’t think.
JD (8ded14) — 9/17/2010 @ 5:57 pmYes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
AD-RtR/OS! (cd552c) — 9/17/2010 @ 5:59 pmSummer of Recovery? How about a big pile of FAIL!
—
I was Anti-Obama before being Anti-Obama was cool
GSH (a1ae90) — 9/17/2010 @ 6:03 pmBring on the second stimulus. Bankrupt USA. I bet Osama is sitting in a cave somewhere laughing his a** off!
Tamarisk (a1ae90) — 9/17/2010 @ 6:04 pmOh, it´s a very interesting report. I presumed that, New York City had a bigger problem with federal stimulus money. Therefore this finding is very surprised for me at the moment. The question of corruption points to new possibilities and important responsibility for using federal stimulus money.
Jay Banks (b4d0e8) — 9/20/2010 @ 11:34 amHello
finaly I found what I was looking for
how did you guys found this information??thank you for your blog I found it on Google And I bookmarked it .I like. Please send me updates
thank you and have a nice day
Houston Whorley (bb6a48) — 7/5/2011 @ 8:02 am