Big Surprise: States That Cut the Most Spending Have Lost the Most Jobs

by Tracey Conaty  |  June 28, 2011

Actually, not surprising at all. As Adam Hersh, an economist at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, reports:

“Steep state spending cuts have gone hand-in-hand with rising unemployment rates, falling private-sector payroll employment, and lower growth in state’s gross domestic product, or GDP — the sum of all goods and services produced by labor and equipment in each state, less imports.”

Yet, despite the cold, hard facts, Hersh says many Republican (and some Democratic) politicians have been caught up in a “cult of economic thought sweeping the nation.”

"Its adherents cling to the erroneous belief that sharp government spending cuts will revitalize economic growth and create much needed new jobs.…Now these Republicans want the American public to drink a giant glass of their Cut-Grow Kool-Aid.

But the data actually show the opposite of their claims to be true: steep spending cuts are hampering economic recovery in some states, while other states that resisted cuts or increased spending are now seeing declining unemployment rates, faster private-sector job creation, and stronger economic growth."

Don't drink the Kool-Aid. Read more from the Think Progress blog.