Quote sent to my by my friend, Paula, from the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
The state should stop giving money to nonprofit organizations until it gets better at tracking its grants, a Republican Minnesota House member proposed Thursday.
"Until state agencies enact better controls and procedural safeguards, the only responsible course of action is to enact a moratorium," said Rep. Chris DeLaForest, R-Andover.
Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Eden Prairie, also wants the state to create a publicly accessible Web site to make it easy to see how the annual $4.7 billion the state pays to nonprofits is used.
The proposals come on the heels of a state report released earlier this month that found Minnesota has a "fragmented and inconsistent" approach to tracking grants to nonprofits and doesn't do needed checking to see how well the money is used.
"Taxpayers deserve to know where their money is spent," Paulsen said.
— Rachel E. Stassen-Berger
© 2007 St. Paul Pioneer Press and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.twincities.com
So, the state has a problem keeping track of who it gives it's money to and how they spend it. So in the mean time, it should cut off funds (effectively punishing the organizations for the State's lack of accountability and oversight)?
How long will it take to implement this "tracking system?" It sounds like they don't even have a clear idea of how they want it to work or anything.
It seems as though it would be better for the State to continue to give out the money as it has in the past, and work to develop and accountability system and implement it, thereby insuring the uninterrupted flow of services.
The State can weather a few months or however long it takes for them to get their house in order. The NGO's most likely cannot go that long without money.
Hey, I'm all for the taxpayers being able to see where their money goes. That sounds like a great idea. There will probably not be so much complaining about the damn taxes when they see all the good these non-profits can do on a shoe-string.
Of course, the Michele Bachmanns of the world will raise a hue and cry over any of it going to help kids learn how their reproductive systems work, or to help do harm reduction for things like AIDS and STD's, or help poor people who qualify navigate the byzantine maze that is a de facto barrier between some people and the government assistance they need (The difficulty in applying for Social Security Disability comes to mind).
This "information" site should include information from the NGOs about how the money was spent, and the social costs that their activities defray. Kind of an opportunity for the NGO to do a "sales pitch" for why they are a good steward of the money. You never know, it might drive private donations.
If this is really about accountability and taxpayer rights, then it can be handled better than just cutting off funds until the government gets its house in order. Just pay out the money you were paying out and implement the paperwork when you have it ready.
On the other hand, if this is about starving a large number of NGO's into non-exsistance, and then being able to pick the survivors off one-by-one through political hit jobs...then this is an excellent plan (no, I don't think they're PLANNING that...but that's where I see it leading).