More waste, no-bid contracts, in PA budget

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner has a draft of an audit blasting the Rendell adminstration for its technology contracts, specifically with Deloitte, the Patriot News Reports.

An eight-month audit draft also raises concerns about possible favoritism shown toward Deloitte over other information-technology vendors.

It questions practices that allow Deloitte to have internal knowledge that helps the company get state businesses without having to compete with other firms.

And it challenges a state grant awarded to Deloitte for job creation/retention for which auditors had difficulty determining how the state benefited.

 Meanwhile, Governor Rendell is promising cuts in the most popular programs - hospitals, nursing homes, and basic education - because the federal stimulus might not be big enough to satisfy his appetite for spending.  Maybe he should cut the waste first, with no whining.

Shameless plug: if you want to send a message to the Governor, visit PleaseNoMoreTaxes.org.  You can also upload your video message and enter the contest.