you can't make this stuff up!
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25083.html
Of all the statistics pouring into the White House every day, top economic adviser Larry Summers highlighted one Friday to make his case that the economic free-fall has ended.
The number of people searching for the term âeconomic depressionâ on Google is down to normal levels, Summers said.
Searches for the term were up four-fold when the recession deepened in the earlier part of the year, and the recent shift goes to show consumer confidence is higher, Summers told the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Summers continued the administrationâs push-back against critics of President Barack Obamaâs handling of the recession, defending the economic stimulus package against Republicans who have tried to paint the program as a failure because it hasnât stemmed the unemployment rate.
âWe pledged at the time the Recovery Act became law that some of the spending and tax effects would begin almost immediately.,â Summers said in prepared remarks. âWe also noted that the impact of the Recovery Act would build up over time, peaking during 2010 with about 70 percent of the total stimulus provided in the first 18 months. Now, five months after the passage, we are on track to meet that timeline. â
Summers rattled off a list of accomplishments of the stimulus package:
âMore than $43 billion in immediate tax relief has reached households and businesses. Another $64 billion has been channeled into the economy through aid to state and local governments, expansions in social programs, and spending on education, housing, and transportation projects. In addition to the amount that has already been paid out, another $120 billion in spending has been obligated by the federal government and is on track to begin working its way into the economy.â
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25083.html
Of all the statistics pouring into the White House every day, top economic adviser Larry Summers highlighted one Friday to make his case that the economic free-fall has ended.
The number of people searching for the term âeconomic depressionâ on Google is down to normal levels, Summers said.
Searches for the term were up four-fold when the recession deepened in the earlier part of the year, and the recent shift goes to show consumer confidence is higher, Summers told the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Summers continued the administrationâs push-back against critics of President Barack Obamaâs handling of the recession, defending the economic stimulus package against Republicans who have tried to paint the program as a failure because it hasnât stemmed the unemployment rate.
âWe pledged at the time the Recovery Act became law that some of the spending and tax effects would begin almost immediately.,â Summers said in prepared remarks. âWe also noted that the impact of the Recovery Act would build up over time, peaking during 2010 with about 70 percent of the total stimulus provided in the first 18 months. Now, five months after the passage, we are on track to meet that timeline. â
Summers rattled off a list of accomplishments of the stimulus package:
âMore than $43 billion in immediate tax relief has reached households and businesses. Another $64 billion has been channeled into the economy through aid to state and local governments, expansions in social programs, and spending on education, housing, and transportation projects. In addition to the amount that has already been paid out, another $120 billion in spending has been obligated by the federal government and is on track to begin working its way into the economy.â