I wish to hell he was. Better him than Newt or Mitt.

Hey, at least he didn't LOSE $288 million.

it was probably stashed in shoeboxes under his bed... he has a history of that sort of behavior.

actually to be fair to mr diminutive governor... if the stack of papers got too high on his desk there is no way he would be able to all the way up to the top of the stack (possibly even standing on his desktop).

but having been W's budget director I can see where this is some sort of carryover from his previous job.

Diogenes: WhoIsWillo: RexTalionis: Just imagine. A few months ago, he was supposed to be the serious candidate with serious ideas and a record of competent leadership for the Republican Presidential nomination.

... I'm not a big Mitch Daniels fan, but I don't think there's anyway you can really blame him for the error of a computer programmer.

I don't think you can lay this on one programmer either. The reality is no one uses sound development methodologies anymore. This should have been noticed during testing - probably unit and/or integration testing.

I was just assuming that the code monkey that they were anonymously throwing under the bus either didn't exist or was some sort of no-bid contract awarded to the nephew of some GOP fund raiser who didn't actually have any experience programming per se but had spent a lot of time on WOW.

Ed Finnerty: I'll bet there's some jobs in there too. Check the couch cushions.

And Saddam's WMDs, the Lindbergh baby, Amelia Earhart, D.B. Cooper's cash.....

And since he's a Republican, that'll make a nice $288 million tax break for millionaries then, won't it?

And this is the guy who used to be in charge of the Office of Management and Budget. Luckily he found this money in time for his re-election campaign.

It wouldn't suprise me if the money was hidden so he could claim a need to sell the state highway system to his buddies.

Jake Havechek: Ed Finnerty: I'll bet there's some jobs in there too. Check the couch cushions.

And Saddam's WMDs, the Lindbergh baby, Amelia Earhart, D.B. Cooper's cash.....

and obama's birfcert

You mean like in Superman 3?

Was he was the one who ordered the audit which uncovered the problem? If so, I'm not sure I understand the subby's snark.

Hey Mitch ...please please put that into our schools!!!... not had a raise in 3 years, asshole

Man, what a lot of butthurt over a computer error.... this is an error in our favor..savor, and enjoy.

/if it had been against us, then you kill 'em, beat 'em up, and kill 'em again

Shaggy_C

Was he was the one who ordered the audit which uncovered the problem? If so, I'm not sure I understand the subby's snark.

Easy, Daniels is a R. If he were a D, then the tag would have been and FarKosers would be tripping over themselves claiming this showed that Democrats are better fiscally than Republicans.

He actually held up the Monopoly card that says "Bank error in your favor, collect $200" as a prop. LOL.

Oh yeah, and government computer systems suck. They are always designed by somebody's cousin on the cheap and maintained by people who can't cut it in private industry (if they were any good, they would work at Google or wherever where they could make many times the amount of money that the government pays).

Clowns are a Ten: And since he's a Republican, that'll make a nice $288 million tax break for millionaries then, won't it?

Let's check back in a few months and see.

/This may prove prophetic.

WhoIsWillo: RexTalionis: Just imagine. A few months ago, he was supposed to be the serious candidate with serious ideas and a record of competent leadership for the Republican Presidential nomination.

... I'm not a big Mitch Daniels fan, but I don't think there's anyway you can really blame him for the error of a computer programmer.

Utter shash.

Let's go with his flimsy-ass excuse that one computer programmer didn't make code for a new revenue stream's transfers work the same way as that for the other 27 revenue streams.

So, no one for the last four friggin' years noticed that the state was somehow missing a quarter of a billion dollars? Not a single project manager, comptroller, accountant, or finance official noticed that the books were about $288 million dollars short, until one guy follows up on one check four years after the implementation?

That's utter nonsense. Either there was monumental incompetence along the entire chain of command, or there was a rather nasty bit of financial legerdemain executed at the behest of someone in that chain of command to hide that revenue stream. It sounds like the Budget Office needs an impartial review & overhaul if they can lose more than a quarter of a billion dollars during a recession.

The article nails both possibilities rather nicely. I lean towards "stupid" instead of "evil", but "evil" definitely has a place in the conversation.

Not sure who to blame here or whether blame is due, but this could hardly be called a display of responsible governance.

FormlessOne: The article nails both possibilities rather nicely. I lean towards "stupid" instead of "evil", but "evil" definitely has a place in the conversation.

Yeah, the stupid is pretty high in this, I'm thinking. Unless your accountants are morons, $288million dollars doesn't just vanish with no way to find it because some computer programmer (who I also suspect is a convenient crutch that never actually existed) typed up something wrong.

/but the comment about sound methodology in developing being sorely lacking is true
//too many places I've noticed use "extreme programming" and/or "agile methods" as the be-all-end-all

Perlin Noise: Hey Mitch ...please please put that into our schools!!!... not had a raise in 3 years, asshole

9% of Americans haven't had a job for 3 years. Why should you get it before them?

"Good bye collective bargaining rights, we can't afford it for public employees."

"Oops! Look what I found right here, I guess shoving it up your ass wasn't necessary after all."

Farking asshole.

beta_plus: 9% of Americans haven't had a job for 3 years. Why should you get it before them?

If someone is unemployed anywhere, no one should ever get a raise. Ok.

qorkfiend: beta_plus: 9% of Americans haven't had a job for 3 years. Why should you get it before them?

If someone is unemployed anywhere, no one should ever get a raise. Ok.

I haven't eaten dinner in four years because I heard of that famine in Africa.

Shaggy_C: Was he was the one who ordered the audit which uncovered the problem? If so, I'm not sure I understand the subby's snark.

yeah... unfortunately it doesn't appear that anyone 'ordered an audit'... from the article it sounds like some low level receivables clerk was following up on a company that claimed 'the check was in the mail 4 years ago' and he/she was trying to track down the "e-check" and the associated funds... and then noticed that there was a lot of other money in that account. The article even notes that it had gotten to the point that Daniels himself even thought that the numbers must be wrong on their collections of corporate taxes...

but hey, its a complicated case... lotta ins, lotta outs..

All the politicians in Indy will have coke to snort off of hookers' chests tonight!

AirForceVet: I regret some IL Democrat seems hell bent on having some programmer fired for a coding error, instead of going "Woo Hoo! We got some new revenue!"

/Democrat.

well...it's IN, and...yah. i do think that not noticing 300 million accumulating is the kind of thing you or i would be shiatcanned for. that isn't on the programmer, but...damned skippy heads should roll.

the way the purse strings have been played to push policy nobody would want if there weren't budget woes does leave one wondering just how accidental this could possibly be...as a resident, i've gotta say my credulity stick is bent nigh unto breaking, at least.

FormlessOne: So, no one for the last four friggin' years noticed that the state was somehow missing a quarter of a billion dollars? Not a single project manager, comptroller, accountant, or finance official noticed that the books were about $288 million dollars short, until one guy follows up on one check four years after the implementation?

People make mistakes. This is why we have a third party conduct audits. Missing it one year I can buy but missing it four straight years? Fire the internal auditors and terminate the contract of the external auditors.

Solid State Vittles: You mean like in Superman 3?

Underrated movie, actually.

Are there any sane people who would genuinely prefer (any current Republican presidential candidate) vs. Obama over Daniels vs. Obama? Really? I mean, even if you want Obama to win, the downside of the former scenario is a crazy person is President of the United States.

tdpatriots12: I mean, even if you want Obama to win, the downside of the former scenario is a crazy person is President of the United States.

what is it about bush's budget director that makes you feel like the executive branch would be filled with sane people should he win?

yah, he aint bachmann, but...if you set the bar that low, you can clear the hurdle simply by not drooling on yourself.

beta_plus: Perlin Noise: Hey Mitch ...please please put that into our schools!!!... not had a raise in 3 years, asshole

9% of Americans haven't had a job for 3 years. Why should you get it before them?

Everybody in Indiana has a job because Mitch Daniels is teh AWESOME!

tdpatriots12: Are there any sane people who would genuinely prefer (any current Republican presidential candidate) vs. Obama over Daniels vs. Obama? Really? I mean, even if you want Obama to win, the downside of the former scenario is a crazy person is President of the United States.

I honestly would have a tough time picking between Johnson and Obama. Beyond that, it's a no-brainer. I disagree with a decent amount of what Obama advocates, but he's not totally batshiat crazy like the GOP; I'll prefer someone who honestly is working to do what he thinks is good for the country (despite my disagreements) over those psychopathic assholes in the GOP any day.

FormlessOne: So, no one for the last four friggin' years noticed that the state was somehow missing a quarter of a billion dollars? Not a single project manager, comptroller, accountant, or finance official noticed that the books were about $288 million dollars short, until one guy follows up on one check four years after the implementation?

That's utter nonsense. Either there was monumental incompetence along the entire chain of command, or there was a rather nasty bit of financial legerdemain executed at the behest of someone in that chain of command to hide that revenue stream. It sounds like the Budget Office needs an impartial review & overhaul if they can lose more than a quarter of a billion dollars during a recession.

Fresh out of work for the day working on getting program managers EOY data, I could totally see this as not necessarily incompetence. Have you worked with some of these mainframes? Many places are working on these ancient mainframe financial systems or interchanges that no one has the balls, influence, or budget to replace. We've got a 40yo son of a biatch at my gig and my team, which only interacts with that system to attempt to get the occasional data pull, has spent many man-hours over the past twenty months reverse engineering the process on that farker.

If you don't have a modern GL, and your FP&As act as oracles of the financial data who only give you the loosest of pacing on your project accounts, I could totally see that much going missing or the account just being lost when someone dies, retires, or gets laid off.

Knara: /but the comment about sound methodology in developing being sorely lacking is true
//too many places I've noticed use "extreme programming" and/or "agile methods" as the be-all-end-all

Comments like this make me thank my lucky stars that I found a BA who loves writing (good!) documentation and validating process.

soze: Have you worked with some of these mainframes?

over a decade of cobol has left me either incapable or unwilling to use my shift key. i'm still not sure which.

that said, any machine fed garbage will spit out garbage...and if i remember correctly, the 2006-7 stretch of time was the final end of the end of the big iron in state government - it wouldn't surprise me at all if this error was introduced in the transition...away from the mainframe.

Found $288 million, sounds like time for $1bb in tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. Imagine how much you would find then.

DROxINxTHExWIND: Geotpf: He actually held up the Monopoly card that says "Bank error in your favor, collect $200" as a prop. LOL.

Oh yeah, and government computer systems suck. They are always designed by somebody's cousin on the cheap and maintained by people who can't cut it in private industry (if they were any good, they would work at Google or wherever where they could make many times the amount of money that the government pays).


BULLSHIAT.

Please, stop advancing the myth of the inefficient government. When we pay $20 for a hammer, SOMEONE is getting that money and its not done because the government's budget office is filled with retards.

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that all the A+ computer science students went to private industry to make $250k a year, and the government is only willing to pay $50k a year, so they get the D+ students. That, combined with contracts being awarded to some company run by some middle management's guy's favorite second cousin, equals a disaster.

The solution to the first problem is to pay $250k salaries, like in private industry. The solution to the second problem is more transparency in contract bids, although even that only goes so far.

Party doesn't enter into this. A mistake this huge is...a mistake this huge. There is simply no excuse. There should be accountability for it. Does that mean "a programmer" should get fired? I work in IT and responsibility is a lot wider than "a programmer." If a corporation discovers that it has $288 million and didn't know it, there would be a whole team of people...the developers, the QA testers, management for both teams, the CIO, on the carpet.

There would be no talk about, "Oh, if it had been the 'other side' that had done this, then people would say blah blah blah."

No. It would be, "First, find out just exactly how this happened, and find out right now. Bring us the answers. Then we'll figure out what we're going to do next. If you want any chance at all of staying employed, make this your top priority. Cancel plans for the evenings and weekends. Now GO."

Because the guys at the top will then have to answer to the stockholders, who will not be happy. And neither should the citizens of Indiana. Sure, it's better than losing $288 million, but a mistake this huge is...a mistake this huge.

The first thing any rational person thinks is, "A...mistake, eh? Money sitting there that 'nobody knew about.' Uhhhh-huh. Or maybe it was money that was going to disappear into certain offshore bank accounts, but somebody stumbled across it before it...'accidentally disappeared' for good. Now I'm wondering if this was a programming error. Now I'm wondering how many more times big piles of money have 'accidentally disappeared.' Now I'm wondering whether you bozos, or thieves, or bozo thieves, should be left at the controls for even another millisecond. Now I may have a different reaction the next time my government pulls out its pockets and says 'we're broke!' before telling us that they need to raise taxes, or cut taxes, or slash spending, or increase spending, or fire TB-infected cows at the moon, or whatever crap they come up with."

Interesting that all this money is from corporate payers and worth about 55% of their annual corporate tax receipts. And now he wants to give it back to the payers because there's a surplus in IN after all the austerity measures he's imposed ... Because there wasn't enough tax revenue.

Cunning plan.

Maybe somebody will be joining Blago.