Post-Dispatch: Quality Jobs Act isn't all it is cracked up to be

The Quality Job Act, shepherded through the Missouri House of Representatives by Speaker of the House Ron Richard, R-Joplin, has only created about 10 percent of the jobs that proponents say it has created, according to an article in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The investigation comes at an opportune time, since the legislature is looking at dramatically expanding a program that does not appear to be doing what it was supposed to do:

State records show that since 2005, the incentives have produced only 2,373 new jobs — about 11 percent of the 22,000 claimed by the program itself and politicians in both parties.

Why such a disparity?

Officials counted all jobs that companies initially promised in their applications, while the actual number of jobs generated so far is much lower. A Post-Dispatch review shows that many of those projects fizzled or were put on hold when the economy nose-dived.