When you spend $787 billion, there's a lot of pressure to show results. So, there's no surprise that success is being proclaimed across the country. States are saying that they've used the federal stimulus package money to create or save more than 388,000 jobs this year. Teachers, construction workers and other professions have realized the upside of stimulus cash according to reports from 33 states and Puerto Rico, with the remainder of the results being released on Friday.

Of course, the numbers "should be taken with a grain of salt," says Ethan Pollack of the Economic Policy Institute. The states were tasked to count the jobs created or protected, but the results have been of dubious accuracy. This doesn't mean the stats can't provide fodder to people on both sides of the aisle.

Columbia Business School's Frank Lichtenberg says the data shows a solid economic impact, and the Obama administration's Council of Economic Advisors believes the stimulus spending has taken care of between 600,000 and 1.1 million jobs.

And, there are those who disagree.

We're tired of bubbles, right? Anyone 30 or older has lived through two big ones so far, with a brief period of prosperity separating the decimation of dot-com largesse and mortgage-fueled paper wealth. It could take until 2014 for the jobs lost to be replenished, and there's little reason for optimism.

So, with the economy in the tank, we can focus elsewhere -- maybe on saving the planet. If we can't put green in our wallets, maybe we can add some to our lifestyles. Or, you could do both. Green technology could be the next boom in the United States, even if we do lag some parts of the world, and investing in clean solutions is really nothing other than investing in the next big thing. Even if you don't give a damn about climate change (or don't think it exists at all), the green market could likely become your employer -- or trigger the economic growth that will create your next job.

Some signs are visible already.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) wants to get into the game of digitizing medical records for physicians who work with (not at) hospitals. Dell wants to ensure all these physicians and their offices remain compatible with the computer systems used by small and mega hospitals, along with making any current processes less expensive and more efficient.

Just like Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ), Dell may be able to expand its services and consulting into areas just waiting for extreme amounts of help and expertise. With consumer and business PC purchases continuing to be slower than in the past -- and with a presidential mandate to digitize all medical records in the U.S. -- Dell's opportunity here is enormous. That is, if it goes bananas and actually takes advantage of it beyond lip service.

Late Wednesday, the EnerDel unit of Ener1 Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV) scored a grant from the Obama administration to make battery parts. The company's $118.5-million handout was part of a $2.4-billion grant package doled out to automakers and related firms by the federal government in order to fund the domestic development of next-generation car batteries.

Indiana-based Ener1 says that the Obama grant, along with $480 million in Department of Energy loans it's applied for, should translate to rapid growth in its staff. The company has 150 employees currently, but said that number could surge to 3,000 workers as soon as 2015.

Christine A. Varney heads up antitrust at the Department of Justice, and she's going hunting. She is the point person for a group consisting of the presidential administration and some Congressional Democrats that is looking to put the breaks on large companies in several industries.

Already, airlines have run into roadblocks when requesting relief from antitrust regulations. Varney & Co. are digging into complaints by AT&T (NYSE: ATT) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) that cable competitors – e.g., Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) – have locked them out of the market for cable company-produced programming.

(Imagine that, a phone company complaining! Usually, they're the objects of derision.)

Europeans and Asians have positive views of President Barack Obama, according to the latest Quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll of investors and analysts. Americans, on the other hand, are split down the middle.

According to the study, 87% of respondents in Asia and Europe rate Obama favorably. In the United States, only 49% share this perspective -- a number that drops to around 25% when only his economic policies are considered. Much of this difference comes from an overseas distaste for the previous White House resident, but it seems people in this country are less interested in distinctions: 43% of respondents favored Bush's policies to Obama's (compared to 80% overseas).

Last fall, I suggested that General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) ought to follow a six point restructuring plan. One of those steps was to can GM's CEO Rick Wagoner. Under his tenure, which began in 2000, GM's stock has lost 95% of its value and GM has posted $30 billion in 2008 losses while presiding over a North American market share slide from 33% to 19%. What amazes me is that GM's board did not step in years ago. So Monday, President Obama will officially ask Wagoner to step aside.

Lately, it has been as if every lesson from a first-year graduate seminar in public policy is being played out on the national stage.

Let's underscore one point: the nation appears to be nearing a policy to deal with the financial crisis. Investors should try to keep that at the forefront. Or maybe paste it on to their computer screens at work or in their home offices, so that they can maintain a sense of perspective. Yes, it's about a year late, but there was another U.S. president in charge then: the new guy's just arrived. Moreover, if calm prevails, the nation is going to get through this difficult period, this aftermath of the decade of policy errors, the decade of descent.

Congress is sending a bill to President Obama's desk that limits banker pay. Specifically 11 pages in the 1,073-page $787 billion stimulus bill describe a provision that limits bonuses for executives at all financial institutions getting government money to a maximum of a third of their salary. And these are not cash bonuses -- instead they'll be paid in company stock that executives can't sell until the government investment has been repaid.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) CEO Vikram Pandit, volunteered to take a $1 salary until his company returns to profitability. Assuming Citi posts a loss in 2009, Pandit's maximum bonus for the year will be 33 cents -- which at today's price would amount to a tenth of a share of Citi stock.