One of the more absurd claims made these days by right-wing political candidates and the think tanks that support them is that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal stimulus package, has not save or created a single job in North Carolina, not one. 

That's their view and it's being repeated again and again, most recently this week by the head of Raleigh most well-known anti-government think tank. It's being said and reported unchallenged so often that it's seeping into the public consciousness as fact.

But it is not true. It is simply undeniable that there are people in North Carolina working today who would not have a job if the stimulus bill had not passed. That includes teachers, service providers, and other state employees, but it also includes thousands of people in the private sector working on projects paid for by stimulus funding. 

The latest figures from the N.C. Office of Recovery and Investment show that 25,000 jobs were created or saved in the state in the last quarter alone.  The federal government estimates that overall 90,000 jobs were saved or created by the stimulus.

State Republican Party Chairman Tom Fetzer has said that "by any objective measure, the stimulus package has been a complete failure." 

That will come as a surprise not only to government economists, but also to scholars like Dr. Mike Walden at N.C. State, an adjunct scholar at the Locke Foundation, and surely someone Fetzer would consider an "objective source."

Walden says the stimulus has created and saved jobs in the state and all the figures don't include the impact of direct payments to individuals through tax credits, social security payments, food stamp assistance, etc. That's money that is spent almost immediately providing a boost to the local and state economies too.

The right-wingers usually listen to Walden, but not this time. Instead they deny any jobs were created at all and focus attention instead of a handful of stimulus-funded university research projects they can ridicule, even if they have legitimate purposes, like helping women cope with the symptoms of menopause.

The projects they belittle add up to a few million dollars. North Carolina's overall share of the stimulus bill is roughly $10 billion.

But they are seeking a soundbite and don't let any facts get in the way. That's apparent from their own conflicting statements.

One conservative think tanker said a couple of weeks ago that the stimulus has only "shored up some government jobs that may or may not have been needed there in the first place."

It's not clear if she meant that teachers or health care workers weren't needed, but her offensive comments at least admit that the stimulus funding did save jobs in the state.

Much of the jobs saved came from the almost $3 billion in federal funding that helped state lawmakers balance the budget in the last two years without laying off thousands of teachers and slashing services to people who need them.

The extreme and absurd claims from Fetzer and the right-wing crowd aren't likely to let up until the election, but don't believe them.

Thousands of people are working in North Carolina because of federal stimulus plan. That's the truth by any objective measure.