Digging makes a difference
Published 12:01 am Friday, January 28, 2011
Ever since the recession kicked in, and then settled in for a long stay, Washington residents have asked the powers that be in Olympia to root out “waste” as a way to whittle down our super-sized state budget. As opposed to raising taxes.
It’s a big, broad, sweeping mandate
— root out waste — and realistically it takes specifics to make a dent in any one costly cog of bureaucracy. Which is why citizens approved an initiative to have performance audits conducted of state agencies. Which Auditor Brian Sonntag has dutifully been doing. His audits, and recommendations, can be found online. There they sit until the governor, lawmakers or other officials decide to act, or not, on any given suggestion for savings.
Luckily for citizens, others outside Olympia are taking the “waste” agenda seriously, and airing their findings on TV. Investigations last year by Seattle’s KING TV news reporters revealed plenty of waste still to ferret out in government practices. And to their credit, some in Olympia are responding to the information.
This week, Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, sponsored a bill that would ban the use of cash cards that are intended to distribute welfare benefits at strip clubs, tattoo parlors, gun shops and taverns.
The proposal to restrict where welfare recipients can spend their taxpayer-funded cash was prompted by KING’s investigation this summer that revealed an estimated $2 million in welfare cash withdrawals at casinos in Washington over the course of a year. The investigation — noting that the Department of Social and Health Services does not track cash transactions — also found cash withdrawals in other “adult only” businesses.
Gambling with welfare cash is already illegal, KING reported, but there’s no law against spending the money in the other adult establishments. Carrell’s bill would take care of that by forcing DSHS to cut off EBT card access at ATMs and cash registers at such businesses. Most casinos have already complied with a request by DSHS — prompted by the investigation — to block their use.
Another KING investigation, “Waste on the Water,” which documented millions of dollars of wasted by Washington State Ferries, has led to a number of changes in agency practices. It’s one agency now sure to receive continuing scrutiny.
The series uncovered how certain ferry workers were paid for the time it took them to get to work, how others were paid questionable housing expenses and overtime. In December, KING deservedly won a prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for the reports.
On behalf of citizens and the fourth estate, kudos and thanks to KING (and the willing whistleblowers) for keeping watchdogs on duty. Keep it up.
