Schwarzenegger Declines To Say If Stimulus Was Worth Over $228,000 Per Job

(CNSNews.com) - Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) declined to say whether or not the economic stimulus package passed by Congress in 2009 was worth the cost of over $228,000 for each job it created or saved, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

A report released last week by the CBO called, “Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from October Through December 2010” says the stimulus law cost a total of $821 billion, up from the CBO’s original estimate that it would cost $787 billion.

In the third quarter of 2010, the CBO estimates that somewhere between 1.4 million and 3.6 million jobs were created or saved by the stimulus. The $821 billion cost of the stimulus divided by the maximum of 3.6 million jobs the CBO says the stimulus may have saved or created equals an average of $228,055 per job.

After his appearance at the Energy Innovation Summit in Washington on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Schwarzenegger, a supporter of the stimulus law since its passage in 2009, about the CBO’s report.

They [CBO] released a report saying that the stimulus package created 3.6 million jobs – a maximum and cost the taxpayers $228,000 per job. Do you think it was still worth it given this assessment from the Congressional Budget Office?” asked CNSNews.com.