What do you think about this editorial in today’s The Columbus Dispatch?
Familiar story
Government good at spending, not so good at oversight
How disappointing, but how unsurprising: The Ohio inspector general says nearly $467,000 of $2.8 million in federal stimulus money for job training in Ohio might have been misspent.
More than $250,000 of the questionable and improperly documented spending is pegged to a $1 million fund overseen by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Some grant money was used to pay people’s cell phone bills and the rent on an office from a man with a conflict of interest; the head of a company charged with overseeing the grant was paid an amount in salary that made sense only if she had worked 15 hours per day, seven days a week.
As with so many stimulus-funded projects, the Constructing Futures initiatives relied on contracted agencies to oversee the spending.
In many undertakings, such as subsidized home-weatherization projects, a scramble to spend the money quickly leads to large-scale waste and, sometimes, fraud. Those who are spending other people’s money have far less incentive to ensure that it is spent well.
Whether the apparent irregularities in the Constructing Futures programs stem from honest mistakes, sloppy record-keeping or intent to cheat, they could have been prevented with better oversight.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2012/12/04/familar.html
Familiar story
Government good at spending, not so good at oversight
How disappointing, but how unsurprising: The Ohio inspector general says nearly $467,000 of $2.8 million in federal stimulus money for job training in Ohio might have been misspent.
More than $250,000 of the questionable and improperly documented spending is pegged to a $1 million fund overseen by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Some grant money was used to pay people’s cell phone bills and the rent on an office from a man with a conflict of interest; the head of a company charged with overseeing the grant was paid an amount in salary that made sense only if she had worked 15 hours per day, seven days a week.
As with so many stimulus-funded projects, the Constructing Futures initiatives relied on contracted agencies to oversee the spending.
In many undertakings, such as subsidized home-weatherization projects, a scramble to spend the money quickly leads to large-scale waste and, sometimes, fraud. Those who are spending other people’s money have far less incentive to ensure that it is spent well.
Whether the apparent irregularities in the Constructing Futures programs stem from honest mistakes, sloppy record-keeping or intent to cheat, they could have been prevented with better oversight.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2012/12/04/familar.html