Thursday, May 2, 2013

The Only Way To Correct WEDC Is To End It

Scott Walker couldn't wait until he created the WEDC - Wisconsin's Economy Destroying Cronies - because JOBS!


Well, not only has Walker failed in creating jobs, the WEDC has gone from bad to worse to worst:
Auditors found a number of serious problems with the agency, including that WEDC didn’t have sufficient policies — including some that were statutorily required — to administer its programs effectively. It also found that WEDC awarded some money to ineligible recipients, for ineligible projects, and for cash amounts that exceeded specified limits.
Problems auditors found included:
Among unexplained transactions were six season tickets to UW-Madison football games and four iTunes gift cards.

Information provided by WEDC indicates that 59 award recipients submitted just 45 percent of their contractually required progress reports.

The report WEDC submitted in November 2012 to the Legislature about its economic development programs, which is supposed to include information about expected and actual program outcomes, did not contain all of the required information, contained some inaccurate information, and did “not clearly present information about the number of jobs created and retained as a result of the programs.”

WEDC had incomplete policies pertaining to staff acceptance of gifts from businesses and other organizations. Auditors said WEDC reported 40 gifts worth a total of about $55,000 between July and December 2011. More gifts provided in 2012 included Amazon gift cards and personal items, the audit said.

Before contracting with Baker Tilly in May 2012 to help improve its IT systems, WEDC didn’t solicit proposals from other companies and, as a result, didn’t require Baker Tilly to disclose potential conflicts of interest. Auditors said they found seven potential conflicts of interest with Baker Tilly. A spokeswoman for Baker Tilly couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.
A few points need to be made, besides the obvious one that WEDC is an epic failure.

Once again, as the corporate media always does when covering WEDC's storied failures, they continue to omit the fact that the chairman of the WEDC board is Scott Walker.  He needs to be ultimately held responsible for the failure to create jobs as well as the robbing of the taxpayers. But in Fitzwalkerstan, where corruption runs rampant, don't hold your breath for this to happen.

Secondly, Peter Barca is wrong. Barca is saying there should be another audit next year and if the problems are not fixed, WEDC should be dissolved.

The fact is that these sort of "public-private partnerships" are well-known for their fraud, corruption and waste. The only way to stop the continued mugging of taxpayers through groups like these are to end them. It's not like it was creating jobs anyway.

With all the problems the state if facing - everything from Walker's budget creating a massive debt and having holes big enough to drive a fleet of semis through to the dearth of family supporting jobs to the threat to our ecology as well as our economy to the destruction of our once admired educations system - the last thing we need is another one of Walker's schemes siphoning our money down like an open sewer.

The WEDC needs to be ended yesterday and the people who were spending our money inappropriate, when they weren't just giving it away to cronies and campaign contributors, need to be prosecuted.

5 comments:

  1. When the fox(and he is no fox) is guarding the hen house would you expect more????

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  2. You need to edit graf #8: "fail to omit the fact.." unless the media really did point out that Walker is the chair.

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  3. Graft and corruption in the Walker Administration?

    Next you will report that Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.

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  4. 40 gifts totaling $55,000 comes in at an average of $1,375 per gift. These look a lot more like bribes than gifts. How much more cash was passed under the table? How much was Walker's cut? We know that Van Hollen's state justice department won't investigate this corruption, but since WEDC did handle Federal funds, perhaps the FBI can be brought in. Please.

    In a former life as a state employee I wasn't permitted to accept so much as a free calendar from a car dealer. So what gives?

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  5. Why Capper. We agree on something.

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