Tobacco Trust Funds Footbridge to Nowhere
In time of budget shortfall, some call for a redirection of TTFC funding
RALEIGH (By David N. Bass, Carolina Journal Online) — What do a $30,000 well-appointed restroom and an isolated footbridge that dead-ends in a marsh have to do with helping tobacco farmers transition to nontobacco sources of revenue?
Not much, say critics of the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission’s priorities in a time of budget woes for the state. They think the funds should be redirected t more urgent projects.
“Some projects may be worthwhile,” said Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie, “but this originally was supposed to go to tobacco-dependent communities to help them transition into the 21st century, and very little of that actually [takes] place.”
Others raise the specter of political patronage. “I just wonder if there’s not favoritism and looking at grants in some members’ districts versus others — if there’s not political connections that influence some of the spending,” said Rep. John Blust, a Guilford County Republican.
The state-run trust fund was meant to assist North Carolina farmers, farm workers, and related businesses displaced by tobacco’s declining fortunes. It handed out a record number of grants this year.
RALEIGH (By David N. Bass, Carolina Journal Online) — What do a $30,000 well-appointed restroom and an isolated footbridge that dead-ends in a marsh have to do with helping tobacco farmers transition to nontobacco sources of revenue?
Not much, say critics of the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission’s priorities in a time of budget woes for the state. They think the funds should be redirected t more urgent projects.
“Some projects may be worthwhile,” said Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie, “but this originally was supposed to go to tobacco-dependent communities to help them transition into the 21st century, and very little of that actually [takes] place.”
Others raise the specter of political patronage. “I just wonder if there’s not favoritism and looking at grants in some members’ districts versus others — if there’s not political connections that influence some of the spending,” said Rep. John Blust, a Guilford County Republican.
The state-run trust fund was meant to assist North Carolina farmers, farm workers, and related businesses displaced by tobacco’s declining fortunes. It handed out a record number of grants this year.
posted by BP News Bureau | 12:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home