Obama supporters have come under fire for acting as if the president-elect is a messiah. They may, however, be on to something. The newspaper says he’s going to turn deficit spending into an economic stimulus. We’ve heard the reports of raising the dead, turning water to wine, feeding 5000 with seven loaves and two fishes – but making Keynesian economics work in the real world would be a first (1,2).

Of course, I should be interested because NC will be awarded $1,124,127,000 of its fair share of the federal deficit. Citing a report by Families USA entitled, “A Painful Recession: States Cut Health Care Safety Net Programs,” Asheville’s local daily declares:

These new funds are expected to help create 20,200 new jobs with $711,600,000 in new wages and to spur an estimated $1,945,600,000 in new economic activity in North Carolina.

Whereas in school, our teachers made us show how we arrived at our numbers, the newspaper tells us:

The Families USA analysis is based on legislation introduced in the Senate by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The report simply states:

A detailed methodology is available upon request.”