Article: "The Associated Press: SPIN METER: 'Help Wanted' counting stimulus jobs"

Sorry for the long title... :) Here's the link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ifn5cIQggxKMBZdAwWc0ej79EQLgD99NA4VO3

" PORTLAND, Ore. — How much are politicians straining to convince people that the government is stimulating the economy? In Oregon, where lawmakers are spending $176 million to supplement the federal stimulus, Democrats are taking credit for a remarkable feat: creating 3,236 new jobs in the program's first three months.

" But those jobs lasted on average only 35 hours, or about one work week. After that, those workers were effectively back unemployed, according to an Associated Press analysis of state spending and hiring data. By the state's accounting, a job is a job, whether it lasts three hours, three days, three months, or a lifetime. "

Ok..that's the first two paragraphs of the article, which goes on quite a bit longer and in more detail. But it's the first two paragraphs that I'm the most interested in. There was also something on Drudge about the Democrats returning to a tried-and-true tactic, bashing Bush. More on that later.

But let's return to this. In Oregon, the Dems are taking credit for creating 3,236 new jobs in three months. On the surface, it sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Imagine creating 3,200+ NEW jobs that last a lifetime, provide meaningful employment with plenty of room for advancement and pretty good health insurance.

Turns out that that's not the case. On average, these "jobs" lasted 35 hours ... or about one week. That means that they're probably not technical or highly-skilled jobs. Indeed, the picture with the article shows a man painting a wall.

While I'll agree that the wall needed painting, and that even 35 hours of paid work is better than no work, I'm not sure these should be counted as "jobs created" or "new jobs." After all, according to the article, they were effectively unemployed again after the 35 hours.

I remember going through six WEEKS of on the job training at one of my jobs, and that was before we were allowed to help Customers. Six WEEKS, and some of it got downright geeky.

I'm sorry, but we simply can't count these "new jobs." Unless you wanna use Fuzzy Math.