You know I know I'll probably get slammed for putting
this boston globe piece, in a diary, but I really think Deans record and associations with corporations needs to be looked at, especially in light of the constant slamming of other candidates and and the Dem party sleeping with corporate interests.
I mean I acknowledge that they probably all do it to some degree or another, but the governor and his campaign and followers are the ones who want to make this an issue.
As governor of Vermont, Howard Dean presided over the creation of a program that authorized $80.1 million in corporate tax credits without verifying that many of the companies had made good on promises to bring new jobs and investments to Vermont, according to a report by the state auditor's office.
The goal of the program, begun in 1998 and similar to ones put in place by other states, was to lure new firms to Vermont or to ensure that existing ones expanded in Vermont and not in other states. The 2003 state auditor's report found it was likely that some of the 113 expansion or building projects that received credits would have taken place without the enticement.
As such, the report concluded, the credits had probably cost the state more money than they had brought in and had contributed to a 44 percent decline in corporate tax receipts, from $57 million to $32 million, between fiscal years 1999 and 2002.
The report also noted that applications for the credits were kept secret