Barbara Boxer: feeling stimulated

One of our Senators, Barbara Boxer was in town a couple of days ago touting the merits of porkulus:

Boxer visited a freeway construction site near the U.S.-Mexico border and hailed it as proof that the federal economic stimulus plan is creating jobs.

“All of us are so happy to see this project come alive, and I know that it wouldn’t have come alive without the stimulus funding,” said Boxer, who was joined by several local officials at the extension and widening of state Route 905. “I’ve been told that directly. The funding just wasn’t there.”

And in other news today, the Associated Press says porkulus is having no net effect on local employment rates:

A federal spending surge of more than $20 billion for roads and bridges in President Barack Obama's first stimulus has had no effect on local unemployment rates, raising questions about his argument for billions more to address an "urgent need to accelerate job growth."

An Associated Press analysis of stimulus spending found that it didn't matter if a lot of money was spent on highways or none at all: Local unemployment rates rose and fell regardless. And the stimulus spending only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry, the analysis showed.

We’re running short on time for this scheduled post but we will update it later with a question we had about job-counting with respect to porkulus that has now been answered. And answered in a fashion that is entirely in keeping with a massive stimulus bill that has done absolutely nothing to stimulate the economy or curb unemployment.