Everytime you think investigative reporting has withered and died on the vine, you get the Indianapolis Business Journal with the Brizzi series, or this fine work from Bob Segall and WTHR-13 Investigates.
As many of you know, the Governor has claimed Indiana has created 100,000 jobs in the past five years, and much of this job growth was touted during his re-election campaign. But when Channel 13 went to find the jobs, they found some empty cornfields.
In short, there was a chasm between jobs promised and jobs actually created. When asked about the discrepancy, the Governor replied, "You seem to have a blindingly clear view of what is perfectly obvious. In a recession, a lot of businesses have to change their plans."
We get companies may have to cut back, so what's the real number?
The Governor wouldn't say. Instead, he suggested Channel 13 attend an Indiana Economic Development Committee meeting. They did. When the IEDC had nothing to offer, Channel 13 asked the Governor again. He walked out.
Mitch Roob, the director of the IEDC, said the numbers are confidential, so absent a change in the law, Hoosier taxpayers may never be able to quantify the Governor's degree of hyperbole in job creation. WTHR's story points out that many states have laws requiring disclosure of these very numbers.
This makes sense, of course, because all levels of executive government officialdom cut deals with companies that work like this - you bring jobs, we'll build stuff for you to prepare the site, and we'll ignore the taxes you'd otherwise pay. But how can a public ever ensure that "clawback provisions," by which a company would reimburse the government for foregone tax revenues if they fail to meet targets, are properly enforced without knowing the numbers?
It's almost as if the Daniels administration operates with the "HID Information Principle" - Hide It (job creation), Ignore It (IBM fiasco), Delay It (child fatality numbers).
Here's hoping somebody at the Indiana General Assembly will help us bring the truth to light.
3 comments:
The Governor also hides the contracts that are no bid or self written ie Brizzi in Elkhart and the Casino contract in French Lick. Daniels signed the latter as witness to the self written 40 year contract as a valid and financially sound contract that went into default not once but twice to the tune of $370,000,000.00 each time.
The contractor was to give funds for economic development and their lawyers told the Gaming Commission no funds would be given to charity or economic development outside the tax collected by law until the contractor got all their money back.
Huh, they defaulted twice! What money to get back... the defaulted bonds and the self infused money to cover it up? Us little people would have been run out of town on a rail. Oh yeah they sent the concrete price fixers to jail didn't they.
The contractor is taking in over $6,000,000.00 per month adjusted gross revenue AFTER they defaulted on state backed bonds.
The governor is ignoring a lot of mis-guided issues and the legislature is looking the other way too.
Someone needs to stand up and call it ALL OUT!
There are plenty of holes in the cheese that is being moved around by the big rats.
No jobs, contracts to their friends and family plan, contractors write their own contracts, default on them and then get to keep doing business.
No wonder there are no jobs on the empty cornfields!!!!!!!
This all makes me queasy -- no, downright sick! And to think I personally know a couple of the players named, or their families. What am I to say to their faces should I see them anytime soon?
Anon,
Simply ask them if they had the Governor witness a CONTRACT for services that he helped his friends get with the Gaming Directors steering a non amenable contract through all the other State Agencies.
Ask the parties involved if the French Lick mess is a CONTRACT rather than a license and then ask them how many investors they approached and told them it was a CASINO LICENSE instead of a CONTRACT and see what they say. At least 10 investors threatened to sue when they found out they were mis-led and they were all paid back and then some to keep quiet!!!!
If these are your friends then boy you better be troubled.
Daniel's and his Administrators all KNOW what is going on and they will ignore, deny and run when confronted. They already have several times.
The latest walk out from the news media could get even hotter if the media would just look into it!!!!!
Spots on a Leopard don't change colors! They run real fast though.
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