Franchot: "The Economy is a Mess"

On Tuesday, Comptroller Peter Franchot spoke to the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce about the state of the economy. Comptroller Franchot:

The economy is a mess. Twenty-five to 30 percent of all of the wealth that we have in the state of Maryland has vanished. Home values have gone down, retirement accounts have been savaged by the stock market and many people lost work...

We had to do this enormous stimulus package to get the economy moving again and I support that. Frankly, there is no other alternative other than to really get into some serious economic decline.

In Maryland, the Board of Public Works is an important institution to ensure that the stimulus money is spent wisely. Comptroller Franchot is working to ensure that the Board spends the money on projects that will create jobs and help Maryland businesses. Franchot:

I want to make sure only good projects are given stimulus money.

Franchot pointed out his questioning of using stimulus money to help those who don't need it, like when a developer in Trappe requested $18 million to build a sewage treatment plant. Franchot:

That is why I put my hand up when I noticed $18 million of your money was slated to go to a developer in Trappe for a sewage treatment plan...The project has since been taken off the list for receiving stimulus money.

Comptroller Peter Franchot will continue to be your fiscal watchdog in Annapolis.