Some employers were surprised to learn the subsidy was coming to an end so soon. Given all of the political posturing and the poor economic environment, those employers could have been under the impression that the subsidy was available for the full 18 months.

Oklahoma doles out hundreds of millions of dollars each year to companies in the form of tax credits and other incentives with little oversight or transparency, and there's no way of knowing exactly how much it's costing the state, a lawmaker complained Wednesday during a task force meeting.

Facing a frustrated public and a skeptical Congress, President Barack Obama will pitch at least $300 billion in jobs proposals aimed at getting Americans back to work quickly and forcing Republicans to take a share of the responsibility for solving the country's economic woes.