Missing Money

The point that Daniel is missing here is that if the $150 billion were simply handed out to individuals, sure you could pay twice as many people for a year... or the same number of people twice as much... but to when end? And, why only a year. The 650,000 jobs saved are presumably for more than just one year. These are jobs that (as long as the stimulus work keeps doing its job) will last for many years.

Furthermore, the $150 billion did not go into only "salaries"... but into resources to, for instance, repair roads or repair schools. So, you can't simply divide the money by the number of jobs and determine whether it was worth it or not. Sure, it makes the math simple, but the problem itself is not simple. We have gained value not only in the jobs saved, but the infrastructure which was rebuilt.

in reference to: http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/10/should_the_stimulus_saving_or_creating_650000_jobs_impress_us.php (view on Google Sidewiki)