RALEIGH, NC – A new study by the consulting firm Arduin, Laffer & Moore (ALM) Econometrics and released by Raleigh’s Civitas Institute concludes that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will actually cause North Carolina to lose up to 67,000 jobs over the next two years.

NBC17 is checking with Gov. Bev Perdue for the other side. Check back here for updates on this story.

The study, entitled “The Economic Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: A North Carolina Perspective” concludes, “In North Carolina, between 51.1 thousand and 66.9 thousand job losses can be expected to occur during the time that ARRA funds are being spent.”

Co-authors of the report include Arthur Laffer, former member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Board and creator of the famous “Laffer Curve;” and Donna Arduin, former top fiscal advisor to Gov. Schwarzenegger in California and governors in Florida, New York and Michigan.

As Arduin explains, “Government does not create anything – it merely redistributes wealth by taking money from those who pay taxes – those who are creating jobs and wealth – and spending it with bureaucratic inefficiency, reducing the incentive for taxpayers to save, invest, and employ people.”

Government stimulus schemes not only fail to create any net new jobs, but actually reduce job growth. According to Civitas Budget and Tax Policy Analyst Brian Balfour, “Because government projects necessarily only consume resources, fewer scarce inputs are thus available for productive investment. A lower level of productive investment translates into slower economic growth and fewer jobs.”

North Carolina already has its own case study in government “stimulus” spending. Gov. Mike Easley “fast-tracked”’ nearly $750 million in state government capital improvement projects back in January, promising “these projects will produce nearly 26,000 new jobs.” In contrast to such bold claims, North Carolina has since lost 17,000 construction jobs – a contraction of roughly 8 percent – and 71,000 jobs overall.

“North Carolinians should not be fooled by grand promises of government-orchestrated economic stimulus and job creation, whether from D.C. politicians or state officials,” warned Balfour. “The findings of this study along with the disappointing results of Easley’s ‘stimulus’ show that government stimulus schemes do more harm than good.”

The study also warns of the added burden to the state as it expanded unemployment insurance benefits in order to receive ARRA funds, an observation underscored by recent media reports of the $925 million North Carolina borrowed from the federal government to meet its unemployment insurance obligations.

View “The Economic Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: A North Carolina Perspective.”