When President Barack Obama comes to Charlotte today to tour Celgard, a battery-parts maker that has received $49 million in stimulus money, he's sure to tout how government money will put people to work.
He's visiting a company that hasn't yet spent any of its stimulus money, according to federal documents. But his visit highlights the administration's focus on using stimulus funds to create green jobs and push energy efficiency.
Celgard wouldn't talk Thursday about its plans or the specifics of its grant. The governor's office has said the money will help create about 300 jobs over the next five years.
Nationwide, the federal government says that stimulus spending created up to 2.1 million jobs as of Dec. 31, including 62,000 in North Carolina. But figuring out how many jobs were actually created by the stimulus has proven difficult.
Critics say the government's job tallies can be misleading, because companies are confused about how to report the data and because the government's instructions are prone to make them over-report the number.
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