CURATOR NOTE: The Small Business Administration’s political appointee, Linda McMahon, is the owner of World Wide Wresting and Trump friend. All of the appointed members appear to be hostile to the mission of the agency they have been appointed to lead. Now we know how the Small Business Administration uses questionable, unethical data practice to send more money to non-poverty areas of DC.
A new Washington Post analysis found that the HUBZone program’s use of outdated and unadjusted data allowed businesses in wealthy areas to qualify for more than $540 million in federal contracts meant for firms in underserved neighborhoods. Rather than improve inequalities, critics say, the program has exacerbated disparities, and they question whether its calculations fit the program’s mission.
The Post’s most recent analysis found that the program relied on 1999 data to designate poverty levels for 16 years, which did not account for the city’s economic expansion. Furthermore, poverty levels in some areas that received millions of dollars are inflated by a large number of college students, who are concentrated in more-
affluent areas but have little or no income.
The Small Business Administration, which operates the program, did not dispute The Post’s findings, but declined to comment further. Program officials earlier this year said the agency’s sole responsibility is to determine eligibility for small businesses based on an existing algorithm.
