NEW YORK, NY February 22, 2009 —As governors from around the country discuss the federal stimulus package, New Jersey governor Corzine is praising President Obama’s plan, which he says will make a big difference in the economy.

REPORTER: Corzine told CBS Face the Nation he hopes to use the funds for education and health care, but he said those aren’t the only sectors of the Garden State’s economy that will benefit from the .

CORZINE: Some of the other expenditures that are part of the program, on highways and bridges, and the energy infrastructure of the country, I think we’re gonna create a lot of jobs — about 100,000 in New Jersey.

REPORTER: Corzine says most of the economists he’s talked to don’t expect any turnaround in the economy until at least 2010. He says that makes it essential that the federal government use its ability to finance deficits, something states and local governments don’t have the capacity to do.

I’ll eat my shorts if this leads to 100,000 new and permanent jobs in this state.

Generally, these estimates are based on the premise that for every $1 billion spend by New Jersey on capital construction projects, between 11,000 and 35,000 jobs will be created.

 

“The only problem with this boast is that it is based on a distorted interpretation of a statement contained in a 2002 study by the federal Department of Transportation, which even the DOT has tried to correct,” explained Merkt.

The article goes on to point out that any jobs created by these projects would come at the expense of private sector jobs. In other words, this is a jobs transfer program, not jobs creation program.

In sum: No jobs. More debt. Sounds like a fitting slogan for the Corzine years.