Friday, August 25, 2006
Audit bureau confirms: state gov't for sale
A legislative audit of state business assistance programs released earlier this week mirrored findings in a 2005 Democracy Campaign study that, among other things, pointed out that companies whose executives made campaign contributions received grants, subsidized loans and tax breaks eight times greater than non-contributors.
State Commerce Department officials took sharp exception to WDC's report, calling it "a little off base."
Now the Legislative Audit Bureau has confirmed one of the Democracy Campaign's key conclusions – that oversight of state economic aid programs is so bad that it is virtually impossible to determine whether the assistance actually created any jobs. In fact, the auditors found situations where companies that received state help later laid off employees.
State Commerce Department officials took sharp exception to WDC's report, calling it "a little off base."
Now the Legislative Audit Bureau has confirmed one of the Democracy Campaign's key conclusions – that oversight of state economic aid programs is so bad that it is virtually impossible to determine whether the assistance actually created any jobs. In fact, the auditors found situations where companies that received state help later laid off employees.
