Explanation of Stimulus Jobs

I think it might be important to take a closer look at how the governemnt arrives at the numbers it put out on number of jobs created.  Having worked in government, let me give you an inside look:

White House emails the Secretary of Agency staffers requesting "number of jobs created".  Staffers (many of them simply friends of the family, or friends of friends), pass on the email to a head of a Department, prefacing it with "please address ASAP".  The head of the department doesnt know what to do with the request so passes it down to the head of a Division, prefacing it with "please address ASAP, its from the WH".  The head of a division reads the email and sees that it is asking for specialized information, so passes it down to a manager, prefacing it with "need this by COB".  The manager is very excited to being given something to do, and even more excited that its very important.  However, he/she doesnt have the data....and doubts it even exists....but knows its too important to sit on, so he passes on the assignment to a team leader, with the message "get me this data NOW!".  The team leader tells their assistant, some kid freshly outta college, to find the information.  After searching the computer files, the assistant reports back that the data doesnt exist.  The team leader tells the assistant to start calling people to get the information.  The assistant calls, speaks to a secretary in some office and asks for the data.  The secretary doesnt have the information but says she will find it.  The assistant says he needs it in one hour. The secretary scraps together some numbers and sends it back.  The info then works it way back up the ladder, being refined and inflated.  Finally it ends up back at the WH where they publish the data.  And its not accurate.  The reason being that no one recorded the information, no one tracked it.  Follow up, and results is not the name of the game. 

I am saying all this so that we arent too rough with the WH.  :)