Biden Learning From the Unrealistic Expectations of Past Economic Stimulus Efforts

Taking lessons from his time working in the Obama administration, President Biden is tempering promises of quick job creation with long-term reinvestment.

2 minute read

June 7, 2021, 5:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Eleanor Roosevelt talking with a project superintendent in Des Moines, Iowa. June 8, 1936. This project, sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, planned to convert a city dump into a water front park.

FDR Presidential Library & Museum / Eleanor Roosevelt at a WPA Project, 1936

Learning from his experience as vice president, Joe Biden knows that "you can’t expect immediate results" when it comes to infrastructure spending and job creation, writes Jake Blumgart for Governing. "[H]istorically, public works projects have a complicated history when it comes to quickly getting a lot of people back to work." That makes infrastructure spending "bad stimulus spending" despite its long-term benefits. 

The concept of "shovel-ready projects," a term popularized by President Obama in late 2008, proved deceptive. Research shows that in most areas of governance, "it took at least one year to set up a project and another two to three years to actually spend the money." Learning from these prior experiences, President Biden is taking a longer view. "The Biden administration’s rhetoric around the American Jobs Act is, obviously, about job creation. But the $2 trillion plan is not about juicing the economy in 2021, or even in the crucial midterm election year of 2022. Instead, it is meant to unfold over the course of a decade." 

The public works programs of the New Deal era, according to Jason Scott Smith, assistant professor of history at the University of New Mexico, "are better understood not as unsuccessful state-employment measures, but rather as a strikingly effective method of state-sponsored economic development." By framing the American Jobs Act as long-term reinvestment, Biden is avoiding the "poor job of setting out expectations" that plagued the Obama administration.

Monday, June 21, 2021 in Governing

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight