Do they even want to hold WEDC accountable?

One function of effective government is to ensure that the taxpayer money they spent is money well spent. But once again, our politicians are falling short. In Wisconsin, members of the Joint Finance Committee have rejected a plan to put more accountability and oversight in place at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. WEDC, the state’s job creation agency, has become infamous for wasting taxpayer dollars. The agency has handed out money to create promised jobs that were never filled. They gave our tax money to companies which weren’t eligible for the job creation money. And, according to the most recent audit, continues to provide money to Wisconsin companies which create jobs in other states. So it makes sense that the state provide more oversight of the agency. That is what Governor Evers called on the committee to do, to create an annual report of how successful companies which received state grant money were at creating the jobs they promised. That seems like a no brainer. Clearly WEDC has a poor track record. They have not been good steward of our tax money and are not holding corporations which receive our money accountable. If WEDC isn’t even going to compile a report of how successful their job creation program has been, given their track record, it seems nothing is likely to change.