More Jobs Created in House Stimulus Bill, Say Economists

In an effort to be cut some massivneess from the massive stimulus bill, the more fiscally conservative Senate trimmed some programs--and some jobs, according to some economists. From Bloomberg:

While providing more generous tax breaks than the House version, the Senate agreement pared $40 billion targeted at helping state and city governments avoid layoffs, $19.5 billion for school construction, $7 billion for health care and about $1 billion for early education programs.

Excising or reducing funds to those programs significantly blunts the stimulative effects of the Senate package, economists say.

Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com (oft-quoted conservative economist in favor of the stimulus) and Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, both say the trimmer Senate bill is the less effective of the two.

Martin Feldstein, however, says both bills miss the mark in getting enough bang for the buck.

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