The North Carolina Legislature reconvened to approve $60 million in new tax breaks to Goodyear and Firestone. The Legislature’s original intent in coming back to session was to consider an override of Gov. Easley’s veto of a bill that would have given $40 million in tax incentives to keep a Goodyear tire plant in Fayetteville.

“Our lawmakers need to ensure that taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted on corporate welfare, but are rather spent on effective economic development projects,” said NCPIRG’s Rob Thompson.

To ensure that grants and tax breaks for businesses effectively create jobs and spur economic development, North Carolina should implement strong mechanisms to return money to taxpayers when companies fail to produce the promised number and quality of jobs.

Companies with immediate past histories of shoddy work and fraudulent practices still receive billions of dollars in federal contracts, according to a new report by the NCPIRG Education Fund.

The report, “Forgiving Fraud and Failure: Profiles in Federal Contracting,” highlights nine examples of new—often no-bid—contracts that were granted to companies with recent records of questionable performance. The NCPIRG Education Fund report cites secretive practices: lax oversight, weak rules and lack of competition.

For instance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave contracts to companies for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts that had recently been charged with defrauding the government.

“These examples show a pattern of turning a blind eye to serious problems when spending public funds,” said NCPIRG Policy Advocate Rob Thompson. “Fool me once, shame on you. But these federal agencies have been fooled more than twice. Shame on them for allowing the abuses to continue.”

The report recommends taking immediate steps to establish accountability in the contracting process including: increasing disclosure of contract information, increasing competition, and strengthening the rules to screen bad actors.

New NCPIRG-backed legislation signed by the president in September should make the drugs we put in our medicine cabinets safer.

The bill’s near-unanimous final approval belied the intense debate that surrounded its key provisions. We made it a priority to require drug companies to disclose clinical trial results—a step vehemently opposed by drug industry lobbyists.