Editorial: Influx of green lost in red tape

Talk about it

While President Obama and members of his administration point to signs that federal stimulus efforts are working, there’s one area in which that’s far from the case.

A Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) report Wednesday stated that a mere 2 percent of Minnesota’s more than $130 million for weatherization of low-income homes and job creation has been spent as of the end of July. The likely reason why: a classic example of federal government red tape.

The MPR report explained that as part of the stimulus package, Congress mandated payment of a prevailing wage to weatherization workers. Problem is, it’s taken months for the U.S. Department of Labor to arrive at wage determinations for each state.

While the official in charge of weatherization at the U.S. Department of Energy said there’s no reason stimulus money can’t be spent without precise wage information, others say it’s needed. Regardless of who you believe, it seems clear that the miniscule amount of stimulus money spent in this state boils down to the federal government’s less-than-stellar implementation of what so far is proving to be a less-than-effective program.

After all, if the stimulus dollars aren’t being spent, where’s the stimulus?

Tags: opinion, editorials, stimulus, minnesota, weatherization