JOHN BOEHNER

Washington, D.C. (Nov 17, 2009) Ten months after the President signed a $1 trillion "stimulus" spending bill that his aides claimed would keep unemployment below 8 percent, Americans are still asking: "where are the jobs?"  It turns out that some of jobs the Administration claimed were "saved or created" by the so-called "stimulus" were from Congressional districts that don't even exist.   Fox News reported on it this morning: ABC News has also uncovered even more "stimulus" spending in non-existent Congressional districts:

• "In Oklahoma, recovery.gov lists more than $19 million in spending -- and 15 jobs created -- in yet more congressional districts that don't exist."
• "In Iowa, it shows $10.6 million spent and 39 jobs created -- in nonexistent districts."
• "In Connecticut's 42nd district (which also does not exist), the Web site claims 25 jobs created with zero stimulus dollars."
• "The list of spending and job creation in fictional congressional districts extends to U.S. territories as well."
• "$68.3 million spent and 72.2 million spent in the 1st congressional district of the U.S. Virgin Islands."
• "$8.4 million spent and 40.3 jobs created in the 99th congressional district of the U.S. Virgin Islands."
• "$1.5 million spent and .3 jobs created in the 69th district and $35 million for 142 jobs in the 99th district of the Northern Mariana Islands."
• "$47.7 million spent and 291 jobs created in Puerto Rico's 99th congressional district."

Rep. David Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, blasted the Administration's claims of "jobs created or saved" in a statement yesterday:

The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes.  Credibility counts in government and stupid mistakes like this undermine it. We've got too many serious problems in this country to let that happen.

But the exaggerated jobs numbers aren't the end of the "stimulus'" troubles.  As USA Today reported this morning, "Stimulus aid has sparked an economic boom for some unwanted entrepreneurs - con men."  The story goes on:

State and federal officials say they are fielding thousands of reports of scam artists, many operating from overseas, using the promise of money from the Obama administration's $787 billion economic recovery plan to entice people to hand over bank account numbers. The scams are so numerous, and the criminals hard to identify, that authorities say it's all but impossible to catch them.

It seems that "stimulus" money has gone everywhere - except to helping create jobs for the 10.2 percent of Americans who are unemployed. The "stimulus" hasn't created the jobs the President promised because it relies on big-government spending instead of helping small businesses, which create between 60-80 percent of jobs in our economy.  House Republicans offered a plan to let small businesses and families keep more of what they earn, but Democrats ignored it, took a go-it-alone approach, and passed their trillion-dollar big government plan anyway.   And yet after a trillion dollars of deficit financed spending, Democrats still can't answer the question: "where are the jobs?"