Lincoln Journal Star on Feb 13: Local View: Better review needed on business subsidies

An editorial by Renee Fry, executive director of OpenSky Policy Institute

Feb. 13, 2013

Those concerned with how Nebraska spends money should look at a report issued Monday by the Legislative Audit Performance Committee about some of Nebraska’s business tax subsidy programs.

The report found that the state spends as much as  $234,568 to create a single job under a tax subsidy offered to businesses. By anyone’s standard, that’s a lot of money.

The report went on to say that it’s impossible to figure out whether this is money well spent because: “The audit’s overarching finding is that the program goals expressed by the Legislature … are too general to permit a meaningful evaluation of whether the programs are, in fact, accomplishing what the Legislature hoped they would accomplish.”

Read the full article.