2009 Stimulus Debate

I often hear this debate frequently between conservatives and liberals.  Conservatives claim that the 2009 stimulus package failed because it didn't keep unemployment below 8%.  Liberals riposte saying that the stimulus worked it just wasn't big enough.  The recent revisions to GDP numbers of 2008/2009 help support the "stimulus wasn't big enough" argument. 

Initially the first quarter 2009 GDP decline was 5.5%, now the revised numbers indicate a 6.4% decline- meaning the recession was much worse than initially thought.  This helps support the notion that economists didn't realize how bad the 2008 melt down really was.  Many economists would have advoated a bigger stimulus package for 2009 had they known the severity of the decline in economic activity. 

Here is a good report from the WSJ.  

Also check out The Economic Report of the President found here.