The federal stimulus plan to kick-start the economy into a recovery so far has generated or saved more than 1 million jobs, the White House declared yesterday. The Obama administration said it is on track to create or save 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year. “The basic number is that we’ve spent about a third of the money in a third of the time,“ domestic policy adviser Melody C. Barnes told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Wandering among issues currently in the news . . .

• The unemployment rate hit 9.8 percent in September—the 21st consecutive month of job losses. Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, the U.S. has erased about 7.2 million jobs, including 4.1 million lost since the beginning of this year. Those jobs may have evaporated permanently. So it’s difficult to imagine the U.S. knowing a robust economy any time soon.

Virginia will use nearly $50 million in federal stimulus funds to reward energy-conserving consumers, businesses and localities with rebates on purchases of efficient appliances and alternative fuel choices. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday announced allocation of the funding in the following areas:

• $15 million for the Virginia Energy Efficiency Rebate Program, which will provide rebates of up to 20 percent on purchases of efficient products and equipment purchased after June 25.

Far be it from skeptics of the federal government’s massive stimulus bill to fault the commonwealth of Virginia for not cutting in line to grab a slice of the pork. That Virginia has “fallen far behind other states in putting to work” stimulus money for road construction, as Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar noted recently, is not the end of the world.

The most recent economic data from France, Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong report modest growth (although Japan has produced troubling numbers as well). The recession may be over in those happy climes, as desperate optimists hope. The news also allows commentators to play their favorite sport. Particularly regarding attitudes toward our European friends, observers of all stripes suggest conditions prove them right.

Virginia is getting $10 million in federal stimulus funds to aid services for children with disabilities. “By allowing Virginia to retain people in the helping professions of early intervention, while upgrading our service delivery systems, we can expect better outcomes for kids and families,“ Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said. Richmond-area recipients include: $360,486 to the Chesterfield Community Services Board; $103,845 to the Goochland-Powhatan Community Services Board; $572,065 to the Henrico Area Mental Health & Retardation Services Board; $138,667 to the District 19 Community Services Board; $108,788 to Hanover County schools; and $336,568 to the Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Infant Council.

The federal Transportation Department awarded Virginia public-transit agencies $41.3 million in economic stimulus funds for buses, vans, equipment and other transit improvements. Richmond’s GRTC Transit System received $12.5 million to buy 38 paratransit vans, 11 regular 40-foot buses, bus stop signs and vehicle surveillance cameras, and to pay for preventative maintenance work.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), while aimed at recapitalizing the banking sector, has produced some unintended consequences, and the potential for similar harmful consequences exists in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The government’s investment of more than $350 billion in bank preferred stock, with more government funds to follow, immediately provided needed liquidity in the banking sector. It was believed that this increased liquidity would ensure the survival of problem banks and allow banks to extend loans to businesses and individuals. These funds would then be used for investment and consumption, which would in turn help revitalize the economy.

Richmond’s history is tied to transportation. The fall line of the James explains the city’s location. Richmond linked Hampton Roads and the state’s interior. The region once blazed trails, and not only of the type associated with frontiers. In the late 1800s, Richmond established the nation’s first successful trolley system. Central Virginia’s time to lead may have come again.

The National Right to Work Committee took to the airwaves yesterday to pressure Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner to vote against proposed “card-check” legislation. The two Democrats are said to be undecided on the legislation, sought by labor unions and opposed by the business community. The Springfield-based Right to Work Committee has bought $2 million in television ads in five states, including Virginia, urging viewers to call wavering senators. “The truth is, passage of card check would be a massive expansion of union bosses’ power over workers at the expense of their privacy and freedom,“ Dennis Fusaro, executive director of the committee, said during a news conference at the Doubletree Hotel Historic Richmond.

The City of Richmond has a handy new Web page that provides details about federal stimulus money received by the city. And while we commend the transparency of the endeavor, we’re curious about the particulars and the methodology involved. For instance, Richmond is getting $2 million for a homelessness prevention program that has yet to be determined; apparently, once the money has been awarded the public will learn what it’s for.

Federal Reserve chairman fended off congressional skepticism about expanding the Fed’s duties to police big financial companies given the central bank’s failure to catch problems that led to the financial crisis.

Ready or not, states are getting a huge boost in federal money to weatherize drafty homes, an increase so huge it has raised fears of waste and fraud and set off a scramble to find workers and houses for them to repair.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. strongly defended the Obama administration’s $787 billion economic-stimulus package yesterday, saying it has prevented the country from going into an even deeper recession. “I am absolutely, positively confident that we are on the right track,“ he told an audience of about 140 students, faculty members and invited guests at the Henrico County campus of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.

The June “jobs” report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on July 2 caused shock and dismay. Payrolls declined by 467,000 jobs, more than the 345,000 lost in May, and much more than the 363,000 that economists had predicted. The only reason that the reported unemployment rate rose by only 0.1 percentage points (to 9.5 percent) in June was that many jobless people became discouraged and stopped looking for work. As bad as the BLS report was, it should not have come as a surprise.