Montgomery County, Md., leaders want to use taxpayer dollars to make equity investments in local companies, but some residents say they don't want officials making "risky" business decisions with their money. Delegate Brian Feldman, who leads Montgomery's delegation to the House of Delegates, says the proposal would improve the county's ability to compete for new biotech companies. He notes the state already can make equity investments in businesses that have returned millions of dollars to state coffers. The Montgomery County Civic Federation is opposed to the bill, however. The group's president Peggy Dennis worries about the ethics of allowing elected officials to pick and choose which companies get funding. The proposal in the Maryland General Assembly would only apply to Montgomery County.
1 comment:
The worrisome thing about this is that there's no State of Maryland legislative oversight.
Citizens saying they oppose this because they don't want the County taking "risks" with investments forget one thing: the County can bend rules to vastly improve the chances of success for any local business in which they invest.
The only way this could begin to be acceptable would be as a double-blind investment fund that was allowed to consider only address of the business, and invested in ALL county businesses equally. Otherwise it's nepotism or some other kind of foot-in-the-door to corruption.
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