Stimulus Jobs

Tyler Cowen cites a couple of papers and concludes that they show that the stimulus didn't create many jobs.  A major reason, he argues, is that many of those hired were already employed.

Kevin Drum pokes a some holes in his logic.  One of them:

First of all, a lot of stimulus spending went to states, where it was explicitly used to avoid laying off workers. That doesn't take anyone off the unemployment rolls, but it certainly keeps unemployment from getting worse.
To which I would say, how about a stimulus plan that directly hires the unemployed?  A modern version of the CCC.

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