1. Obama’s Stimulus Bill
Victoria Rock
A recent major decision in politics which was made based on assumption was the Obama
Stimulus Bill. According to Jared Bernstein, Obama’s Economic Advisor, created a chart called
the “hell chart”, which was suppose to show how unemployment would decline more quickly
with the stimulus spending purposed by Obama and that unemployment would not go below 8%
before the end of 2012. But we all know that’s not what is happening and in fact not only is
unemployment still high but due to the stimulus bill the national debt is much higher now.
(Amadeo, 2012)
Two assumptions for this decision that were incorrect was the “Green Jobs” Weatherization
Stimulus, which was meant to help Americans save energy and reduce unemployment, and the
Economic Stimulus Bill, which was suppose to soften the recession by putting money in the
economy.
With the “Green Jobs” the assumption that it would help Americans save energy when they
weatherized their homes was incorrect. Not only was the state and local governments not ready,
but contractors also were not ready due to the lack of training needed for the jobs, but also lack
of proper and sage products. (Port, “Green Jobs” Weatherization Stimulus Has Resulted In
Shoddy, Dangerous Home Renovations, 2011) And we all know the Economic Stimulus Bill
may have put a few hundred dollars in our pockets, but as far as helping the economy, it was a
major fail.
In order to test the validity of the assumptions I would have researched many different
companies who may have dealt with similar plans like the “Green Jobs” Weatherization, and
examine factors that might affect the results and how best to control it. A longitudinal survey,
since this kind of survey gathers data for a long period of time (Definitions of longitudinal
studies ), to see if the economic stimulus plan would indeed work.
Due to the fact that unemployment is the biggest problem this economy is having, I would
have offered incentives to small and large companies that provided jobs for the American people
and bringing jobs back to the United States instead of outsourcing. I believe if you put the
people back to work with a fare wage and benefits, this economy would not only turn around but
improve.

2. Reference
Amadeo, K. (2012, February 23). What Was the Stimulus Package? Obama's First Major Act to Stimulate
the Economy. Retrieved from About.com:US Economy:
http://useconomy.about.com/od/candidatesandtheeconomy/a/Obama_Stimulus.htm
Definitions of longitudinal studies . (n.d.). Retrieved from Definitions:
http://www.definitions.net/definition/longitudinal%20studies
Port, R. (2011, October 18). “Green Jobs” Weatherization Stimulus Has Resulted In Shoddy, Dangerous
Home Renovations. Retrieved from Say Anything Blog: http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/green-
jobs-weatherization-stimulus-has-resulted-in-shoddy-dangerous-home-renovations/