More is involved in creating a job than just paying salary/fringe. The people who are going back to work through ARRA are working class people who otherwise would be exhausting their twice-extended unemployment benefits right now. As part of a national network which has hired many people in so-called "green" jobs, I can attest to the many contractors, carpenters, and general laborers who are working today because of the stimulus bill. What we are not allowed to count are the many jobs our suppliers might have had to cut - building and construction supply firms, primarily - if not for our purchases from them. As for "having more money to take home," a significant amount of the ARRA benefit has been in a small decrease in income taxes paid by individuals. So small that most Americans do not even think they received a tax cut. A bad thing? No. A good thing. Why? Because that money was not spent all-at-once on new foreign-made flat screen TVs, as Bush's "tax rebates" were to a large extent. Instead that money was spent on groceries, entertainment, lattes, and the like...all keeping working class people employed. Speaking of the Bush "stimulus," where were all of these critics when he borrowed money from China to send everyone those rebate checks? Has anyone even considered measuring the impact of that failed attempt to stop the downward spiral created by fraudulent banking and mortage practices or is it assumed that it had an impact because people were able to hold it in their hands and plunk it down all at once?

Too bad there's not some sort of filter here where spammers are blocked from posting their crap online. No one ever clicks on these links, except the idiots who posted them. Back on topic. I still can't tell how the ARRA has worked. Perhaps it's outperformed other government efforts, but bad is still bad. Sometimes doing nothing is a good thing - especially if it means I have more money to take home each payday.