SLTRIB: Utah Democrat David Litvack counters claims that the economic Stimulus has failed
Stimulus a boon or a bust?
What do 10 new Salt Lake City police officers, a pool of money for first-time homebuyers and a dozen interns at the Mestizo Coffeehouse have in common?
They are signs that President Barack Obama’s stimulus program is helping energize the economy, Utah Democrats said Thursday in attempting to counter conservatives’ claims to the contrary.
House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, said the nearly $800 billion stimulus has propped up transportation projects, preserved teaching jobs once considered for budget cuts and helped hundreds of first-time homebuyers get places of their own.
“Criticism is good,” Litvack said. “Public policy debate is good. But, at the same time, it shouldn’t be baseless criticism. What the state of Utah needs is real genuine leadership. Taking shots is not what we need.”
But with the national unemployment rate approaching double digits, Republicans say their criticisms reflect reality. While federal dollars have perked up pieces of the economy, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said it hasn’t produced “fundamental change in the economic climate.”
“If you spend a trillion dollars, you are going to have some effect,” he said. “But, dollar for dollar, it is a boondoggle.”
The Democratic National Committee has launched a national ad campaign to counter those claims and called on local party leaders, such as Litvack, to help prove its point that the stimulus is saving jobs and sustaining projects that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
In Salt Lake City, for example, the money will put 10 additional motorcycle officers on the street, provide millions for home weatherization and relocate a de-icing facility at the international airport to allow for future expansion.
“It is not just about creating jobs,” said Ben McAdams, a senior adviser to Mayor Ralph Becker. “It is about putting us on a better footing for the future.”
Federal dollars even allowed the Mestizo Coffeehouse to hire 12 new full-time employees who, because of learning disabilities, a criminal record or no high-school diploma, normally would have difficulty landing jobs.
But the stimulus doesn’t reach far enough, Sen. Orrin Hatch said.
“By any measure, the stimulus law has turned out to be nothing more than a complete bust,” the Utah Republican said in a statement. “When the debt to pay for the stimulus comes due, Utah taxpayers will be tapped out and Utah families will be asking themselves why the jobs never materialized?”
