Hannity Cites Myth That The Stimulus Failed To Bash Obama Over Debt Negotiations

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published

Criticizing President Obama over debt negotiations, Sean Hannity invoked the discredited myth that the stimulus failed and worsened the recession. In fact, independent experts agree that the stimulus bill significantly raised employment and increased GDP by several percentage points.

Hannity Myth: Obama Worsened Recession With Stimulus

Hannity: The “Failed Stimulus” Made Recession “Worse.” Discussing debt negotiations, Hannity responded to former New Jersey Gov. Richard Codey asking “who got us into this recession” by saying, “Who made it worse with a failed stimulus?” [Fox News, Hannity, 7/13/11]

FACT: Independent Analyses Agree That The Stimulus Raised Employment And Boosted GDP

CBO: Economic Stimulus Added Millions Of Jobs To The Economy In First Quarter Of 2011. A May 2011 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act lowered the unemployment rate “by between 0.6 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points,” and "[i]ncreased the number of people employed by between 1.2 million and 3.3 million" in the first quarter of 2011. [Congressional Budget Office, 5/25/11]

CBO: Economic Stimulus Raised GDP In The First Quarter Of 2011. The same CBO report estimated that the recovery act “raised real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) by between 1.1 percent and 3.1 percent” in the first quarter of 2011. [Congressional Budget Office, 5/25/11]

Independent And Private Analysts: Stimulus Significantly Raised Employment And GDP. In its sixth quarterly report on the recovery act, the White House Council of Economic Advisers cited several economic estimates that concluded the stimulus increased GDP and lowered unemployment.

[White House Council of Economic Advisers, 3/18/11]