A new report from the President's Council of Economic Advisers claims the economy is a lot better off than it would have been without last year's $787 billion stimulus plan. Citing its own analysis plus a range of private sector summaries, the council estimates the annual growth rate last year would have been roughly 2 percentage points lower, and there would have been 1.5 million to 2 million fewer jobs without the stimulus plan.

"That's truly a stunning and important effect", Christina Romer, the council's chairwoman, said in a conference call with reporters. "It has done exactly what we have anticipated it would do."

Last week, President Obama announced $2.3 billion in tax credits to promote clean-energy jobs, paid for out of the stimulus plan. He also urged $5 billion in future spending on green manufacturing. "Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future," he said.