$111 million in stimulus to "save" 55 jobs

[DarrinS]

Maybe RandomGuy can wrap his "critical thinking skills" around this one.

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_16095195?nclick_check=1




Two Los Angeles agencies have received $111 million in federal stimulus funds but have used the money to create or save just 55 jobs, City Controller Wendy Greuel said Wednesday.

Announcing the results of two audits, Greuel said she found no misuse of federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds by officials in the Public Works Department and the Department of Transportation.

But she said she was disappointed by delays in preparing projects and awarding contracts that could have cut into Los Angeles' double-digit jobless rate.

"With our local unemployment rate over 12 percent, we need to do a better job cutting the red tape and putting Angelenos back to work," Greuel said at a news conference.

Defending the city's track record on the jobs front, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said overall job creation is much better if contracts awarded by all departments are taken into consideration.

Los Angeles has received authorization for $658 million in stimulus money and has spent just a fraction of that to create or retain 936 jobs, including 513 in the private sector, Santana said.

Earlier this year, the city estimated it would be able to create 4,763 jobs with the money.

"We've only spent 13 percent of the dollars we were awarded and I think we're on track (to create all the jobs)," Santana said. "The majority of the jobs are still coming."

Part of the problem for the city has been that it must create the jobs and begin paying salaries before it can be reimbursed by the federal government.
DOT spokesman Bruce Gillman said the agency will review and determine what steps will be needed to boost employment.

"LADOT continues to work on several (federal stimulus) funded grants to improve safety conditions on streets," Gillman said.

Among these are restriping left-turn lanes, replacing old traffic lights with energy-efficient LED signals, improving traffic signal safety at grade crossings and improving Commuter Express and DASH bus services.

Greuel said the audits were the first on the federal stimulus grants and her office plans to examine how other agencies are spending the funds.

Other federal stimulus projects include everything from from rehabilitation of low-income housing to fiber-optic installations.

Greuel said the public works and transportation failed to prepare for the programs that will be funded by the federal money.

The Department of Public Works, which has begun to institute changes, had a process to use work orders that made it difficult to distinguish the stimulus funds from other projects. Public Works received $70 million in funding.

In addition, Greuel said the billing procedures for reimbursement were not submitted in a timely manner.

Greuel also complained the Public Works process took too long to award contracts, undermining the goal of having "shovel ready" projects put out to contract immediately.

Bill Robertson, director of the Bureau of Street Services, said he is working with Greuel's office, but believes he has not been given credit for some of the work.

"A lot of these were for projects approved in May and June and we started work on July 1," Robertson said. "Also, the program was designed to keep jobs as well as create new ones. We transferred 80 people over to (stimulus) projects and we are still waiting to get credit for that."

In the Department Transportation, which received $41 million, Greuel found similar delays. She said four projects approved for funding under the Federal Highway Allocation took seven months to get to contract.

Greuel said the department needed to have more of a sense of urgency in awarding the contracts to create jobs.

[TDMVPDPOY]

111m only makes 55jobs? fail

[DarrinS]

2 million per job? Not bad. That's change we can believe in.

[Blake]

sounds like LA public works and other depts are grossly mismanaged.


Los Angeles has received authorization for $658 million in stimulus money and has spent just a fraction of that to create or retain 936 jobs, including 513 in the private sector, Santana said.

this article is grossly written and needs further clarification.

[TeyshaBlue]

Sweet Baby Jesus. Did you even read the article you posted?


Your post is a shining example of confirmation bias if there ever was one.

Did you just not read :""We've only spent 13 percent of the dollars we were awarded and I think we're on track (to create all the jobs)," Santana said. "The majority of the jobs are still coming."
"The Department of Public Works, which has begun to institute changes, had a process to use work orders that made it difficult to distinguish the stimulus funds from other projects. Public Works received $70 million in funding."
"A lot of these were for projects approved in May and June and we started work on July 1," Robertson said. "Also, the program was designed to keep jobs as well as create new ones. We transferred 80 people over to (stimulus) projects and we are still waiting to get credit for that."


Sounds like, if given an honest read, the article is showing why there are only 55 jobs at present and that many more in the pipeline. Administrative delays and unpreparedness...yeah those are problems, but are not flaws of the stimulus program as you would like to infer. Of course, your bias would cause you to omit that. Just like boutons, I'm afraid.

There's lots of things to grill the Obama administration over. Disingenuous bullshit like this just makes it harder to do so.

[TeyshaBlue]

Maybe RandomGuy can wrap his "critical thinking skills" around this one.


Physician, heal thyself.:rolleyes

[DarrinS]

Sweet Baby Jesus. Did you even read the article you posted?


Your post is a shining example of confirmation bias if there ever was one.

Did you just not read :""We've only spent 13 percent of the dollars we were awarded and I think we're on track (to create all the jobs)," Santana said. "The majority of the jobs are still coming."
"The Department of Public Works, which has begun to institute changes, had a process to use work orders that made it difficult to distinguish the stimulus funds from other projects. Public Works received $70 million in funding."
"A lot of these were for projects approved in May and June and we started work on July 1," Robertson said. "Also, the program was designed to keep jobs as well as create new ones. We transferred 80 people over to (stimulus) projects and we are still waiting to get credit for that."


Sounds like, if given an honest read, the article is showing why there are only 55 jobs at present and that many more in the pipeline. Administrative delays and unpreparedness...yeah those are problems, but are not flaws of the stimulus program as you would like to infer. Of course, your bias would cause you to omit that. Just like boutons, I'm afraid.

There's lots of things to grill the Obama administration over. Disingenuous bullshit like this just makes it harder to do so.


You don't know what confirmation bias means, do you?


Ok, so they've only spent $262,000 per job. Happy now?

[TeyshaBlue]

You don't know what confirmation bias means, do you?

Oh, I know exactly what it is. It's my job to understand it from a statistical standpoint. You illustrate the definition nicely in this thread from a meat-world context.
Confirmation Bias is a tendency for people to favor information that confirms their preconceptions or hypotheses regardless of whether the information is true.[Note 1][1] As a result, people gather evidence and recall information from memory selectively, and interpret it in a biased way.

[TeyshaBlue]

You don't know what confirmation bias means, do you?


Ok, so they've only spent $262,000 per job. Happy now?

Well, in one stroke we've reduced your hyperbolic, bogus figure by about 1.7 million and change per job. With a little more critical thinking, you might even do better. Keep trying!:toast

[DarrinS]

Well, in one stroke we've reduced your hyperbolic, bogus figure by about 1.7 million and change per job. With a little more critical thinking, you might even do better. Keep trying!:toast


So, you think a quarter of a million per job is good?


Keep up your "critical thinking".

[DarrinS]

Is it confirmation bias that over a quarter million has been spent per job saved, thus far?

Or, is that a mathematical fact?

[TeyshaBlue]

So, you think a quarter of a million per job is good?


Keep up your "critical thinking".

Critical thinking would suggest that the process is not complete yet and it's ridiculous to trot out figures at this point.

[TeyshaBlue]

Is it confirmation bias that over a quarter million has been spent per job saved, thus far?

Or, is that a mathematical fact?

Actually, if you want to get technical, it's a projection or an estimate since all the data is not in yet. Holy shit, Darrin.:rolleyes

[Sportcamper]

Here is the deal…Cali esp. So Cal, is very important to the U.S.A. economy…Were are like the 8th largest economy in the world….We make a lot of money & we spend a lot of money…We buy cars with sun roofs, navigation, leather interior, bling wheels…We purchase 4x4’s with lift kits, enormous tires, wenches, trucks that will never even get dirty least of all ever go off road…We purchase most of the worlds luxury items that we really don’t need & often cant afford…Watches, big screens, designer clothes…Sure we could shop JC Penny but how boring is that ?…We set the bar when it comes to overindulgence…Think of what would happen if we changed out ways? Wal-Mart’s, HEB markets & What a Burgers would move in instead of Macy’s, Whole Foods & Spago’s…This could have a serious impact on our way of life…People from other parts of the country who spend less & live within their means are not as impacted by economic down turns…

THE REST OF THE COUNTRY OWES US!!! We are entitled to even more stimulus & government bail outs…If the government pulls back on stimulus & pork projects So Cal should be excluded…Who wants to drive to work on a road that is not impeccably maintained…Who wants to travel on public transportation with the steerage…Who wants to shop at some silly grocery store that has weekly sales & promotes coupons to bring in the average Joe…

What is it about being deserving DON'T YOU GET?

[TeyshaBlue]

Notice I've yet to assign a descriptor such as "Good" or "Bad" yet.

People do that when they think things through.

*edit* @ DarrinS

[RandomGuy]

Maybe RandomGuy can wrap his "critical thinking skills" around this one.

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_16095195?nclick_check=1

How about I simply wrap my reading comprehension and basic math skills instead?


"We've only spent 13 percent of the dollars we were awarded and I think we're on track (to create all the jobs)," Santana said. "The majority of the jobs are still coming."

100/13=7.69

7.69*55= 423 jobs to be eventually "saved"

My critical thinking skills lead me to beleive that you posted this, pretty much without reading it, because someone told you to be outraged about it.

My economic skills lead me to point out that the follow on effects of the spending, such as the local goods and services created by the spending of the people who continue to have jobs will not be included in any calculation.

My critical thinking skills is that if the the people who told you about this really knew about those jobs, that fact will not be presented because that would not contribute to the narrative that they are trying to push.

Do you like being lied to a lot Darrin, or do you willingly embrace it?

[TeyshaBlue]

How about I simply wrap my reading comprehension and basic math skills instead?



100/13=7.69

7.69*55= 423

My critical thinking skills lead me to beleive that you posted this, pretty much without reading it, because someone told you to be outraged about it.

My economic skills lead me to point out that the follow on effects of the spending, such as the local goods and services created by the spending of the people who continue to have jobs will not be included in any calculation.

My critical thinking skills is that if the the people who told you about this really knew about those jobs, that fact will not be presented because that would not contribute to the narrative that they are trying to push.

Do you like being lied to a lot Darrin, or do you willingly embrace it?

My money is on willingly embracing.

[ChumpDumper]

Darrin uses 111 million fails to create 55 threads.

[TeyshaBlue]

Darrin uses 111 million fails to create 55 threads.

2 million per thread? Not bad. That's fail we can believe in. :lmao

[RandomGuy]

Is it confirmation bias that over a quarter million has been spent per job saved, thus far?

Or, is that a mathematical fact?

If only it were that black and white.

Sorry charlie, reality is a bit more gray.

As mentioned before, this is a fairly limited measurement, based on rather limited data.

To get a fair sense of what was actually done, and what exact effect the funds had, you would need data on how it was spent, and how funds would be spent in the future, as mentioned before, such spending has a lot of follow on effects.

It is a bit like saying "a functioning car results from putting an engine into a chassis" and skipping all the things that went into assembling the engine and chasssis.

In the strictist sense, your assertion is correct, based on the limited data presented.

Is it not, however, intellectually honest or fair.

Are you concerned with being honest or fair, or simply advancing your personal political narrative?

It is possible to do both, but not if you choose to misrepesent things.

[Stringer_Bell]

So, you think a quarter of a million per job is good?

At least they will be taxed more after the Bush tax cuts expire. /win!

[TeyshaBlue]

At least they will be taxed more after the Bush tax cuts expire. /win!

Winehole has a thread/plan for that. You fail. :depressed :lol :toast

[balli]

Are you concerned with being honest or fair, or simply advancing your personal political narrative?
He's obviously not concerned with being honest or fair, but DarrinS is not advancing a personal political narrative, as much as he's representing someone else's.

Snivelling idiots like DarrinS are too stupid to have personal and coherent belief systems. People like him exist to be fleeced and manipulated by the monetary/political interest groups which do have an actual (evil) agenda. He's a peon, a proud, loud moron. Something to be used. Let's not pretend he's capable of being anything more than that.

[clambake]

you guys are wrong.

i'm certain that he read it.

[ChumpDumper]

So Darrin was only off by about $95,000,000 or so?

Pretty good for him tbh.

[DarrinS]

14.43 million spent (so far) and 55 jobs saved (so far).

Off to a great start. :lol

[clambake]

this dumbass still thinks the article provides a conclusion.

[jack sommerset]

Stimulus bill was meant to create or save jobs. 111 million for 55 jobs. Epic fail.

[ChumpDumper]

Stimulus bill was meant to create or save jobs. 111 million for 55 jobs. Epic fail.Yes, you failed miserably.

Just like Darrin.

[Drachen]

Now, if we are just pulling stuff out of our asses with very little info to back it up. I can subtract capital costs from that 262k. For example, the article made brief mention of replacing stoplights with LED stoplights. This makes sense for a lot of reasons: Electricity saved = savings for the county = either lower taxes or more jobs. Additionally LEDs last substantially longer than Incandescent, therefore replacement costs are lowered = savings for the county = lower taxes or more jobs. Lower taxes or more jobs = more discretionary income to be spent.

This is included because the stimulus projects are supposed to create or save jobs, but the word job implies something to do. The county (city, state whatever) needs to have something for the warm bodies filling these jobs to do and sometimes that entails capital costs. If it was ditch digging, there would be the capital cost of shovels.

I am not going to say that the stimulus as a whole is good or bad, but to use this article as a basis for what is wrong is just plain bad and easily argued against.

[Drachen]

14.43 million spent (so far) and 55 jobs saved (so far).

Off to a great start. :lol

This is unclear as Saldana said 13% of the money has been spent. Was he talking about the 111 M or the total 658?

[George Gervin's Afro]

this thread illustrates how dumb the dead enders are...

[LnGrrrR]

DarrinS gets worse by the day.

[LnGrrrR]

Now, if we are just pulling stuff out of our asses with very little info to back it up. I can subtract capital costs from that 262k. For example, the article made brief mention of replacing stoplights with LED stoplights. This makes sense for a lot of reasons: Electricity saved = savings for the county = either lower taxes or more jobs. Additionally LEDs last substantially longer than Incandescent, therefore replacement costs are lowered = savings for the county = lower taxes or more jobs. Lower taxes or more jobs = more discretionary income to be spent.


Our gov't facility is considered a PL2 area (protected asset, as the network is considered a warfighting asset), and so we have floodlights around our building. These were replaced by LEDs at part of the stimulus. Seems like the LED initiative is rather widespread.

[TeyshaBlue]

Our gov't facility is considered a PL2 area (protected asset, as the network is considered a warfighting asset), and so we have floodlights around our building. These were replaced by LEDs at part of the stimulus. Seems like the LED initiative is rather widespread.

Those things really illuminate well?

[LnGrrrR]

Those things really illuminate well?

Seems at least as good as the originals. The floodlights are mainly there for emergencies, in case someone tries to break into our facility. (Thankfully, have only had to see them during the semi-annual security checks.)

[Drachen]

Those things really illuminate well?

LED lights are damn bright man. They actually have to tone them down for in house use.

[Winehole23]

DarrinS gets worse by the day.I'm not so sure about that, LNGR.

Darrin is notably lazy and careless to start with. Long as I've been here, at least. Those are not good traits to have if you more or less set yourself up as a moralistic scold on a public discussion board.

The authority of the whiphand is noticeably weaker without any whip in it.

[Winehole23]

Yet, there is no small number of these who post here regularly.

[Spursmania]

Either way you try to spin it, it's an utter failure. You've got to be a total homer not to admit that.
Come on...:wakeup

[ElNono]

Either way you try to spin it, it's an utter failure. You've got to be a total homer not to admit that.
Come on...:wakeup

Are you talking about the thread, the stimulus or both?

[boutons_deux]

"it's an utter failure"

just another VRWC lie. The stimulus worked as far as it went, and the hypoctrical Repugs who screamed and voted against it, who said they would refuse the $$$, are loving the $Bs their states and districts are getting.

It was too small, but the Repugs wanted it to fail, and the VRWC screamed the lie "deficit" and the Dems caved. A stimulus of $2T - $3T, about the size of dubya's waste in Iraq alone, would have been much better. But the Repugs wanted Americans to continue in deep pain for the Repugs election advantage, so the false panic about deficit won. The VRWC/Repugs have an excellent communications machine, but it spews self-serving lies.

Put some bacon and cheese on the message, fry it up, and Americans will suck down any old shit.

[MannyIsGod]

Physician, heal thyself.:rolleyes

:lmao