Mike Pence PWNED On Stimulus Criticism

I guess the one small saving grace for Mike Pence is that even with all of his unfounded and irrational criticism of the stimulus bill, he didn't put us a ridiculous YouTube of him searching for jobs with a bloodhound.

From the Evansville Courier and Press of Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — More than 2,400 people are now at work on federal stimulus-funded roadway projects in Indiana, according to a state report being released today.

Covering 83 projects and listing a total payroll of $2.8 million, the Indiana Department of Transportation report details only a small fraction of the hundreds of projects so far selected for funding using the $440 million the agency received under the American Relief and Recovery Act.

Economists say it's too early to tell whether the long-term value of President Barack Obama's economy-boosting effort will justify its $787 billion cost. But construction executives say stimulus-funded projects certainly have created jobs and spared layoffs within the industry.

"Things were slowing down, and the stimulus filled in the gap," said Tim Mahoney, an economics professor at the University of Southern Indiana.

"It has kept people employed that would be laid off."

It's tough to tell exactly how many new jobs are being created or old jobs are being saved by stimulus projects that range from repaving roads to laying new ones.

"On all these stimulus programs, the anticipation is greater than the reality in terms of getting the money spent and getting the jobs created," Mahoney said. "Just by the nature of a public works program, it just takes awhile to get geared up."

Nonetheless, INDOT has been among the quickest state transportation agencies in getting projects under way.

The nature of construction industry work already causes a great degree of fluctuation in employment numbers.

What's clear is that the stimulus projects have boosted an industry otherwise floundering in Indiana.

The work is badly needed. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, Indiana's construction industry has lost nearly 24,000 jobs over the last two years.

"In general, it definitely puts our people to work," said Pete Bjorkman, the chief estimator for Evansville-based J.H. Rudolph.

"We've been struggling here just due to the recent economic woes we've been through."

Bjorkman said the company has a core group of workers that are among the first called to begin projects each year. The stimulus, he said, has allowed the company to rehire those core workers.

He said in the construction industry, a better measurement is how many hours are available for everyone from truck drivers to project managers.

"Our crews are going to be working more hours and more days because of this ...," he said. "It is creating more crew hours for our people that wouldn't have been there before."

Mahoney said it's early, but signs are beginning to point to slow progress, in part thanks to the stimulus package.

"I think the markets are starting to look and say 'OK, there are some of these projects that are starting to pay off,'" he said. "But the private sector is still coming back slowly. Public dollars mean an awful lot to that (construction) industry."

I wonder if Pence will go home during August break and tell these people that they are all failures and that they don't count.

Some how I doubt it.

(h/t Greg Sargent)