Echoing the growing consensus that Governor Mitch Daniels needs to come clean about the state’s fuzzy math and spotty reporting of job creation statistics, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette this morning published an editorial that takes aim at the scandal.

From the campaign commercial scrolling scores of new job sites to the State of the State jabs at neighboring states, the governor has offered up a rosy view. The IEDC’s annual report, labeled “Indiana’s Economic Successes,” was ripe for review. When questioned about it, the development corporation’s Chairman Mitch Roob tried to dismiss the label.

“I don’t know that we call it ‘success’ … what we call it is a ‘job commitment,’ ” he told reporter Bob Segall. When the reporter showed him a copy of the development corporations’ own report, Roob admitted that perhaps it should have been called, “the first step toward the path of successes” instead of “successes.”

Hoosier economist Morton Marcus calls it more clearly: “A commitment is not a reality,” Marcus said. “We need to be founded in reality. That’s the issue – where are the jobs?”

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WTHR continues to hold Mitch Daniels’ feet to the fire over the wildly inflated job creation figures that his administration has touted for years. And as this latest report reveals, Governor Daniels isn’t taking the criticism well.

To help clarify how many job commitments have resulted in actual jobs, WTHR asked the governor if the state would release specific information to show which job commitments have been fulfilled and which ones have not, along with the number of jobs each company has created in Indiana.

“The IEDC board meetings are public, and plenty of enterprising reporters choose to attend them and those numbers are available there,” Gov. Daniels replied.

His statement contradicts what Roob told 13 Investigates a week ago when WTHR asked for the same information.

“Most of what IEDC has is sheltered from public disclosure for competitive reasons,” Roob explained. “That is a competitive weapon that companies believe can be used against them by their competitors… the confidentiality we promise to companies that do business in Indiana is very important to us. That is confidential information.”

For those of you keeping score at home, that’s Spin: 1, Facts: 0.

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That’s the question being answered by Indianapolis news station WTHR, which took a long, hard look at the economic development statistics that Governor Mitch Daniels has hung his hat on for years. And what they found wasn’t encouraging.

Honda, Nestle, WellPoint, and Toyota announced plans to bring the state new factories and thousands of new jobs, and many other companies followed.

[Indiana Economic Development Corporation] began tallying all the job announcements, and the agency developed an impressive list.

That list, published each year in IEDC’s annual reports, is simply titled “Indiana Economic Successes.” It includes the name of each company that committed new Indiana jobs through relocation or expansion, and it shows the specific number of jobs promised.

Since its creation, IEDC boasts more than 100,000 new jobs on its success list, and when the agency and the governor talk about job numbers, the “Indiana Economic Successes” list is what they are talking about.

But 13 Investigates discovered many of the state’s “economic successes” aren’t really successes at all.

They are empty fields and deserted factories where the state claims there are supposed to be thousands of jobs.

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You know times are tough for Republicans when they’re after each other on issues like jobs and the economy. The Associated Press reports that the Guv is taking heat from a group that normally has his back:

A key manufacturing representative said Thursday that the Indiana Department of Workforce Development should be held accountable for improvements in the state’s unemployment system that it’s promised to the federal government.

Indiana Manufacturers Association Vice President Brian Burton said Workforce Development has largely bypassed two state oversight boards in responding to the U.S. Labor Department’s recent findings that the state agency miscalculated jobless benefits, broke federal laws in awarding contracts and violated other federal rules.

“I think we need a full airing of this,” Burton insisted at a meeting of the State Workforce Innovation Council.

Burton is among the 36 members of the council appointed by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels to develop state policy on job training that then is implemented by Workforce Development.

His objections, which he said represented the positions of the GOP-leaning manufacturers group, underscore its recent dissatisfaction with the Daniels administration on job training and jobless assistance as the state copes with large-scale unemployment, particularly among manufacturers.

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First, it was the Family and Social Services Administration’s failure to deliver critical services under a privatized system that continues to struggle. Then it was the Department of Workforce Development breaking a bunch of federal rules and delaying unemployment payments. The latest hitch in state government’s get-along seems to be within the Department of Revenue, which was kind of an important agency this week. The Associated Press reports:

Indiana is extending the state tax filing deadline for those trying to use its clogged online system.

A technology glitch slowed the state’s I-File system, and last-minute tax filers created a bottleneck Wednesday. The Indiana Department of Revenue has extended the I-File state tax deadline until midnight Sunday.

Revenue Commissioner John Eckart said Thursday he regrets the situation and hopes the extension will restore taxpayer faith in the online filing system.

Some taxpayers also had trouble with the state’s ePay system Wednesday. The Department of Revenue says it will contact those who couldn’t use the system to inform them of how to pay. They will not be subject to fees or penalties.

It’s nice of the Commissioner to apologize and grant extensions, but seriously, did no one spot-check the system prior to the biggest tax-related week of the year? You’d think we were still in the first term, what with all the mistakes these guys keep making.

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