The Spectacle Blog
Phantom Stimulus Beneficiary
First there were stories, thanks to the enterprising Watchdog.org reporters (Disclosure: I worked with them on the Massachusetts story election last week), about the Recovery Act funds that went to phantom Congressional districts.
First there were stories, thanks to the enterprising Watchdog.org reporters (Disclosure: I worked with them on the Massachusetts election last week), about the Recovery Act funds that went to phantom Congressional districts. Then came their reports about money going to non-existent zip codes.
Now they are discovering stimulus funds going to phantom…recipients?! From the Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s Scott St. Clair:
According to Recovery.gov, two contracts totaling $210,381 resulting in the creation of zero jobs were awarded in the Kirkland, Wash. Zip Code of 98034. Per the site, both were awarded to Lancs Industries, a manufacturer of protective clothing, containment devices and other safety products.This came as news to Tim Wiest, Lancs’ president, however.
Wiest said that his company sells to firms doing work at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Those firms have used stimulus funds obtained through Department of Energy contracts to buy his company’s products. But Lancs itself does not have any contractual relationship with the U.S. government, he said.
“I am uncomfortable with the appearance that stimulus funds are coming to us directly,” he said. Yet the clear implication from the Web site is that is what’s happening.
Wiest wanted it understood that the implication is false. Lancs Industries has “no contract with any federal agency through which we receive federal stimulus funds,” he said.
Can you get any more economically stimulating than $210,000 to no business in order to create no jobs?
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http://spectator.org/blog/2010/01/27/phantom-stimulus-beneficiaries
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Sparky| 1.27.10 @ 3:19PM
I'm in CT and looked at recovery.gov for my state and discovered $18M going to "Chicago Housing Authority" and $20M going to the "City of Upland" (which does not exist). I checked a few days later and found only $200K going to the City of Upland.
Dixie Pixie| 1.27.10 @ 3:51PM
OK, Where did the money go? The amount looks like the yearly salary of a mid-level union official. Did some bureaucrat decide he needed a supplemental income ?
Flee| 1.27.10 @ 4:08PM
I'm certain our president will be sure to mention some of these heartwarming tales of stimuli in his latest and greatest, address to end all addresses. I think a Republican senator should invite a few guests that represent the misuse or misidentification of stimulus funds to show just how much it isn't providing any stimulus.