Aquion goes bust: Winner-picking failure

Lawrenceville-based Aquion Energy Inc.'s bankruptcy, which shuttered its battery factory in East Huntingdon's former Sony plant, represents government's latest failure at both picking economic winners and at keeping close track of the money it uses in attempting to do so, which it takes from unwilling venture capitalists — aka taxpayers.

In 2012, the state Department of Community and Economic Development gave Aquion $8.6 million in grants and $8 million in loans to keep it in Western Pennsylvania. Aquion promised 341 new jobs. As of February 2016, all that taxpayer money had produced just 50 new jobs, yet DCED gave Aquion a one-year extension on its job-creation promise — which is now worthless.

Adding insult to taxpayers' injury, a DCED spokeswoman says Aquion was current in payments on its state loans, which were secured by collateral — but won't say what that collateral was, or even how much Aquion still owed. That DCED is unable or unwilling to share with the public such basic information about public money is intolerable.

Aquion and DCED thus become “poster children” for the tighter accountability regarding state economic development funding that's urged by Gov. Tom Wolf. But such concerns wouldn't arise — and more taxpayer money wouldn't be squandered on the next Aquion — if the state didn't favor some businesses over others and instead focused on improving Pennsylvania's economic climate for all businesses.