A serious review of Walker's WEDC by a fair-minded Attorney General is long overdue.
On Wednesday, in a posting focusing on the FUBAR Foxconn 'deal' that summarized just a few examples of Walker's tainted leadership and WEDC's continual ineptitude, I noted:
On Wednesday, in a posting focusing on the FUBAR Foxconn 'deal' that summarized just a few examples of Walker's tainted leadership and WEDC's continual ineptitude, I noted:
And the WEDC [had] a track record of ugly audits, a dizzying, resignation-plagued revolving-door that shuffled CEO's and chief financial officers like a Las Vegas blackjack dealer and allegations of pay-for-play lending.
And such poor administration, decision-making and portfolio management that state legislative Republicans - - let the sink in - - threw Walker out as WEDC chairman, suspended the agency's ability to make new loans - - but humorously left the words "Economic Development: in the agency's title - - and only made WEDC's powers whole again as it was working on the Foxconn deal.Less than 48 hours later, this in the Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin's economic development corporation gave taxpayer funds to businesses that created jobs in other states, audit finds
The state's economic development agency gave nearly half of a million dollars to one company that cut more jobs than it created and handed out taxpayer funds to others for jobs established in other states, according to a bruising audit released Friday.
In addition, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. didn't recover more than $400,000 in tax credits and more than $4 million in loans it could have when employers didn't meet the terms of their taxpayer-funded deals.These kinds of "bruising audits" have been released by the non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau and documented by media for years.
Remember those stories about WEDC giving the lion's share of your money to Walker donors, or to businesses who weren't vetted, sent jobs overseas, or never created them?
Like high-end Kestrel airplanes to be assembled in a WEDC-funded factory in Superior that was never built.Time's up. Bring in the investigators and close WEDC's wide-open money windows. Now.