A recent editorial said that the stimulus did not work. Who said it didn’t work? What criteria are you using to say that it did not work?

Perhaps folks have not been informed what was done with the stimulus. I suspect that some here in the Troy area were working bacause of the stimulus and did not even know it.

The sewer rehab project here in Troy and numerous similar projects were funded by stimulus dollars but nothing on the project sign indicated that the project was funded by stimulus dollars. How many school teachers were still on the job because of the stimulus?

How much worse would the downterm have been without the stimulus? Would we have had the second great depression instead of a severe recession. I think that a majority of mainstream economists would say that the stimulus worked. Did it return the nation to full employment? It didn’t but many economists argued from the beginning that the stimulus was not large enough to do that by a factor of about two..

We actually need more stimulus now to fuel economic recovery. The stimulus needs to be in lasting things like infrastructure: schools, bridges, a smart national electricity grid, home weatherization, renewable energy projects etc. and not handouts.

The republicans would do eaxactly as they did to contribute to the great depression – cut government spending at a time when it should be increased.

Two-thirds of our economy is consumption and recovery must get people confident enough to begin spending once again. Putting more dollars into corporate hands or into the hands of the wealthy will not create jobs when there is no consumer demand. Putting dollars into the hands of the middle class and poor will do more to stimulate the economy.

Michael Mullen

Troy