Editorial: Accounting for the way Wolf's waivers went

More of Pennsylvania is getting back to business as Gov. Tom Wolf slowly turns the dial from red to yellow on counties locked down amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But not every business was stopped from working in the past weeks. Some were deemed life-sustaining and were allowed to keep the doors open. Others weren’t initially in that category but appealed that decision.

And there were a lot of those appeals — more than 42,000 according to the state. Of those, more than 11,600 were told they already fell into the categories that were allowed to operate. About the same number were allowed to operate with additional safety precautions in place. Another 6,000 or so were given waivers that let them go back to work.

But should all of those happened the way that they did? Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is looking at that after a “significant” number of lobbyists and lawmakers were found to have weighed into the process on behalf of certain companies.

It’s the kind of thing that makes wheels turn in the head because maybe wheels were greased in the government.

“I’m not saying that happened, but that is something we’re going to be examining,” DePasquale said.

That is exactly what we need government to do during the pandemic and we need to hear about more of this kind of oversight.

The restrictions of lockdown have made every day a business is open a precious commodity and something that isn’t afforded to all. Small businesses that hold onto the margins by their fingernails can’t afford lobbyists and may not have sway with legislators as donors. The process has to stay equitable for their sake.

The state and federal government should likewise be monitoring where the bushels of lifeline money that is being distributed to essential businesses like hospitals, perilous businesses like airlines and the lucky businesses that have been able to qualify for things like Payroll Protection Program has gone.

That money is serving a vital role in not just keeping the businesses open but food on the table in workers’ homes. But anytime so much money is in play, abuse is a real possibility.

The only way to counter misuse of the system is with monitoring that is both aggressive and publicized.

Pandemic response is squelching the money our people and our companies make, and it is spending money our government doesn’t have. The least that can be done is to make sure everyone is following the rules.