On October 29, the White House claimed that the Cash for Clunkers program contributed to a surge in economic growth: “We found out that motor vehicle output added 1.7% to economic growth in the third quarter – the largest contribution to quarterly growth in over a decade.” But Jim Geraghty notes that “The revised numbers out today indicate that automotive consumption was less than half of what was initially estimated, contributing 0.81 of a percentage point to growth. The overall quarterly growth number was revised from 3.5 percent to 2.8 percent.” Meanwhile local papers around the country continue to expose the false reports of jobs “created or saved” by the stimulus program. Michael Brendan Dougherty writes in New York’s Putnam County Courier:
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