Capitol Monitor

Where's the Truth? Stimulus Jobs Reporting Slipperier than Greased Eel

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:50:35 -0500

The first official reporting of job creation as a result of the $787 billion American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has come due, and even if you believe the figures, the results are less than stellar.

According to the official federal recovery website, as of October 30, 2009, less than 650,000 jobs have been “created or saved” nationally through stimulus spending, with 28,073 of those in North Carolina, including government contracts, grants, and state & local spending.

But are do those figures reflect real jobs, or are stimulus bureaucrats stretching the truth?

Stimulus Spending: Are You Getting Your Fair Share?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:45:48 -0500

At the Capitol Monitor, we're not only tracking stimulus spending by project – we’re tracking it county-by-county, comparing the government's spending choices with North Carolina’s needs. But the counties with the highest unemployment don’t always get the most money for “job creation.” See how your county fares in this chart, which will be updated monthly as new unemployment figures are released. HERE'S THE CHART

Golden LEAF Foundation: A Sterile Golden Goose?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:42:29 -0500

A new performance audit of the Golden LEAF Foundation indicates that the organization is in violation of North Carolina’s Open Meetings Laws and failed to insulate itself from political influence & risky investments, according to state auditor Beth Wood.

Released in October of 2009, the review is critical of the accountability and transparency of the Foundation. Additionally, it states that the organization failed to provide almost 15-percent of the minutes for the group’s meetings, and that Foundation staff was so uncooperative that the auditor couldn’t be certain that her review accurately reflects the full scope of the organization’s operations.

Where's the Beef? Tools Launched to Track Stimulus Spending

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:24:44 -0500

RALEIGH - The Capitol Monitor, a watchdog organization which seeks to promote a better understanding of stimulus spending through increased transparency, has launched two new tools to help citizens understand how their tax dollars are being spent in North Carolina. Two charts are aimed at allowing North Carolina taxpayers to see exactly how their tax dollars are being used in the economic recovery effort in their local communities, and whether that spending is resulting in job creation.

ARRA: A Glossary of Terminology

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:49:39 -0500

Noting the complexity of the language being used in press releases and websites which report on stimulus spending, Capitol Monitor has also created an ongoing glossary of ARRA terminology explaining frequently used terms and acronyms which describe stimulus project spending. The ARRA glossary will be continually updated. VIEW THE GLOSSARY

Pity the Waitresses: Gift Ban Threatens Raleigh Restaurants

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:14:15 -0500

North Carolina’s Capital City suffered another economic blow this month when Governor Beverly Perdue, reacting to state government’s newest pay-to-play scandal, slapped a gift ban on all state employees in an effort to keep government contractors from buying influence. Judging from the beneficiaries of the Verizon contracting scandal, this latest executive order must be causing heartburn for businesses from the Carolina Hurricanes to Raleigh’s high end steakhouses.

Verizon Calling
According to news stories, employees of Verizon Business Services spent $21,000 on gifts like Carolina Hurricanes tickets, spa treatments and wining & dining at some of Raleigh’s fanciest eateries for state employees involved with a $51 million no-bid contract that Verizon had with the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Highway Trust Fund Lawsuit: Power to the People

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:25:06 -0500

Imagine this. You rub the magic lantern and the Genie appears. The Genie gives you the power to become an irresistible force. Fantastic!

But there’s a problem. It appears the Genie has given someone else the power to become an immovable object.

So naturally, this being America, you take them to court to resolve this age‐old philosophical conundrum. That was the case in the recent decision in Goldston v. State by the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The Court had to pick between the irresistible force of the legislature or the immovable authority of the Governor.

Gov. Mike Easley: Using His Position to Line His Pockets

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:29:03 -0500

Sweetheart land deals. Free cars, country club memberships, and vacations. Jobs for relatives, cover-ups and public money for personal political gain. No sooner did Governor Mike Easley depart the environs of his office than were federal prosecutors and state investigators put to work, unraveling the former Governor’s crooked deals.

But even before the grand jury finished looking into his wide range of questionable activities while the State Board of Elections was holding formal hearings into campaign finance violations, Governor Easley gained his spot in the Capitol Monitor's Hall of Shame the old fashioned way.

He earned it.

NC Center for Voter Education: Election Information & Publicly-Financed Campaigns

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:33:19 -0500

The North Carolina Center for Voter Education (NCCVE) is a Raleigh, NC-based 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the quality and responsiveness of North Carolina's election system through public education and research. NCCVE works to inform voters beyond the ballot box by covering state government and politics year round through its biweekly syndicated column, which is published in newspapers across the state, and its online radio station, VoterRadio.com.

Dueling Stimulus Studies: Will Washington's Spending Really Create Jobs?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:26:12 -0500

North Carolina’s stimulus czar (no, not his real title, but don’t we deserve a czar?) Dempsey Benton insists that the federal stimulus plan is going to save or create 105,000 jobs in our state by spending $6.3 billion over the next three years. In fact, he says, 30,000 jobs are already here, not including those "saved" by stimulus funds that are being used to shore up the state budget.

But another analysis by noted economist Arthur Laffer which was performed for the Civitas Institute, a conservative think tank, concludes the stimulus will actually cost North Carolina 67,000 jobs over the next ten years.

So what gives?

Crack, Crumble, Collapse: DOT Mishaps Cost Taxpayers, Sometimes Lives

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:33:28 -0500

In December 3, 2008, a 121-ton girder collapsed during the construction of a new bridge across the intracoastal waterway to Oak Island near Wilmington, crushing bridge builder Jose Mantalvo as it plunged forty feet to the ground.

The contractor on the $36 million project, Barnhill Contracting, had hired Lee Construction for the girder installation. A resulting investigation by a consultant contracted by Lee found that the welding on steel rods bracing the road over the bride weakened the steel so that it couldn’t support the girder.

As a result, North Carolina Department of Labor fined Barnhill $2800 and Lee $6300 for safety violations. The Department of Transportation wasn’t cited but a DOT engineer admitted that the department knew about the welding, and had even brought it to the attention of the contractors.

All this raises a sticky question. If the DOT knew about the welding problem, why didn’t they stop it? Do they have the expertise required to make the proper judgment calls in situations like this? Perhaps not, judging from a letter that the Department of Labor sent to DOT which warned that “where the owner, general contractor and subcontractor have no experience with building a bridge using these methods, we recommend a consultant be on site to oversee critical engineering.”

Huh? Aren’t North Carolina’s DOT own engineers supposed to understand the ins and outs of highway and bridge construction? Maybe not.

2009 NC Ethics Reforms: Strong Talk but Little Action

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:18:40 -0500

When former House Speaker Jim Black and several of his allies were convicted on corruption charges just a few years ago, public outcry compelled seemingly reluctant legislators to finally address long-needed ethics reforms, passing the first in a series of measures designed to discourage corruption in North Carolina state government. But subsequent scandals, including those surrounding former Governor Mike Easley are revealing remaining weaknesses in ethics and lobbying laws, forcing the General Assembly to revisit the issue.

Four ethics bills were considered by the legislature in 2009, a package that would have supported greater accountability and transparency in state government. While the House quickly approved all four measures; the Senate approved one and delayed action on the other three until 2010 (if they move them forward at all), demonstrating once again that even great need and the best of intentions don't necessarily result in positive legislative action in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America: Teachers lose jobs while taxpayers fund non-profit

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:02:36 -0500

At the very same time that the North Carolina legislature was debating nearly $1 billion in tax increases for the state’s citizens to cover an unprecedented shortfall in revenues, Governor Beverly Perdue was handing out $1 million in taxpayer cash from the One North Carolina Fund to the non-profit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) -- and Mecklenburg County was poised to fork over matching funds.

But that wasn't the end of the story. In August, the Charlotte Observer uncovered documents under North Carolina's Public Records law that show that the state promised NACA another $2.5 million for "worker training" -- bringing the state's commitment to the non-profit to a whopping $3.5 million.

It’s all in the name of “job creation,” of course, and while the group isn’t native to North Carolina, the fact that the administration selected it for state taxpayer subsidies while North Carolina’s government services are so strapped that elected leaders enacted the largest tax increase in history makes the organization worthy of a closer look.

Funny Business on Page 199: NC Budget Hijinks You May Have Missed

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:50:26 -0500

By now, you’ve likely heard all about Governor Perdue’s new $19 billion budget, her $990 million tax increase and the trauma the legislature endured closing the $4.7 billion budget shortfall. Well, forget all those numbers because they’re phony, political spin fed to housebroken reporters dutifully transmitting the story that elected leaders wanted taxpayers to buy: that we had no choice but to pay higher taxes so state government could avoid "draconian" budget cuts.

North Carolina Housing Finance Agency: Sheltering the Disadvantaged

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:38:06 -0500

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) is a self-supporting public agency that aims to create affordable housing opportunities for North Carolinians whose needs are not met by the mainstreet housing market. NCHFA provides financing for those who qualify for its programs through the sale of tax-exempt bonds and management of federal and state tax credit programs, the federal HOME Program, the state Housing Trust Fund, and other programs.

The NCHFA is also charged with distributing funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009.