Biden: Recovery Act Is Working

Those who dismiss the Recovery Act as “being spent on pet programs” are wrong, writes the man tasked with administering it. Writing in a New York Times op-ed, VP Joe Biden contends that the stimulus has “brought us back from the precipice.” Two-thirds of it “goes directly to tax cuts, state governments, and families in need, without red tape or delays”; the rest is going to infrastructure work that creates jobs and provides for long-term growth.

Already, “monthly job losses are down, financial markets are improved, and economic contraction has slowed.” But we can’t expect an immediate economic surge: “the act was intended to provide steady support for our economy over an extended period—not a jolt that would last only a few months,” Biden writes. “The act’s effort to address multiple problems simultaneously makes it an easy target for second-guessing,” but after just 159 days, it’s already aiding “relief, recovery, and reinvestment.”