Foreword: Job Creation
Seeking Bipartisan Solutions to Put People Back to Work
One year ago, Congress enacted the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to shore up an economy deep in recession stemming from the 2008 banking collapse. Despite President Barack Obama’s attempts to win bipartisan support for the package of spending on education, infrastructure, and other assistance to spur hiring and assist people who were out of work, the bill garnered almost no Republican congressional support. By the end of 2009, however, the program appeared to have succeeded in putting the country on the path toward economic recovery. Data released by the Administration showed that the Recovery Act had created…
