Ah, 'the economists'. Like Romer? Turbo Tax Timmy? So of much of what 'we do know' just ain't so. First, Romer's team called for a SMALLER stimulus and predicted that it would constrain the unemployment rate and would create millions of jobs.  That's what they were 'telling us'. Further still, they all plainly admitted (in excusing their blunder) that they had no idea just how bad things were economically. Economists told us a lot of things, char, that were just plain wrong. So, how I look to them (or wanna-be economic experts like yourself) is way down the list of my concerns.

I understand your need to see everything through a partisan, 'government-economists-know-best' prism, but so much of what these geniuses were 'telling us' just didn't materialize. Sure, federal employees have done swimmingly, which may explain your inability to understand the effects of the policies of 'the economists' on fly-over country. It's easy to be an economic optimist when everything is going your way.