We’ve seen the reality — it will take a lot more than empty promises and lethargic government spending to foster economic recovery.  When they passed this massive spending plan, Democrats in Congress and President Obama promised it would “save and create” millions of jobs — yet nearly four months later unemployment has continued to climb and none of the optimistic predictions has come true.

I have full faith in America’s economy — I know we will find our way to an economic recovery through hard work, ingenuity, and commonsense. Unfortunately, some have a tough time separating fiction from reality. In order to help, I’ve outlined some examples of the fuzzy-math used by Nancy Pelosi and other liberals:

Fiction:  When he signed the stimulus, President Obama said the legislation “will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.”

Reality:  According to the Administration, $112 billion from the stimulus has been spent or obligated so far.  Assuming the President’s unsubstantiated claim that the legislation has saved 150,000 is correct, each job saved by the first $112 billion in stimulus spending cost $746,600.  At that rate, the entire stimulus would “save” 1 million jobs—far less than the 1.6 million lost since President Obama took office.  At a total cost of $787 billion, that is a net loss of at least 600,000 jobs.

Fiction:  $45.6 billion of the stimulus has been spent and is helping struggling Americans.

Reality:  The Administration is exaggerating the amount of stimulus money that has actually been spent.  For instance, the White House reported on May 5, 2009, the Department of Labor had made $11.5 billion in payments to the unemployment trust fund.  It was later revealed the Department had only been given $1.1 billion.  In reality, about $36 billion of the stimulus has been spent — less than five percent of the stimulus.

Fiction:  As President Obama has proclaimed, the stimulus is “what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs, to provide relief for families worried they won’t be able to pay next month’s bills.” 

Reality:  According to  the Associated Press (AP), those Americans hardest hit by the  downturn have received the least stimulus money.  The AP stated “states are planning to spend 50 percent more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than in communities with the highest.”

Fiction:  The President is committed to “transparency and accountability” and has created Recovery.gov so the American people can “see how the money is being spent.”

Reality:  According to the Washington Post report, it was revealed Recovery.gov offers “little beyond news releases, general breakdowns of spending, and acronym-laden spreadsheets and timelines.”  Even House Education and Labor Committee Chairman, George Miller (D-CA), admitted the Administration “may not achieve the transparency they set out to.”