Learn This Lesson Well

Once again, greed has crept into the darkest hours that this nation has faced in the last generation. Many businesses that applied for, and received, loans and aid following the 9/11 terrorist attacks were completely unaffected by the economic fallout.

The investigative report substantiates key findings of an Associated Press story in September that found similar problems with the SBA's Supplementary Terrorist Activity Relief (STAR) program.

The AP found that terrorism recovery loans went to businesses including a South Dakota radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop, a Utah dog boutique, and more than 100 Dunkin' Donuts and Subway sandwich shops in various locations.

Meanwhile, small businesses near Ground Zero in New York couldn't get the assistance they desperately sought.

SBA Administrator Hector Barreto put the best face on the findings, saying the audit did not find that loan recipients were unqualified for the program, although he did note that lender documentation could have been better.

His statement, however, was contradicted by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R- Maine, chairwoman of the Senate committee that oversees the Small Business Administration.

"These initial findings are troubling and the committee ... will continue with its own investigation of the STAR program to get at the truth and inform Congress for the future," she said.

With numerous aid programs proposed for the Gulf Coast to aid in the reconstruction, will the feds get it right?

I doubt it.

Businesses will take advantage of the program if they're saavy enough to learn about them and apply in a timely fashion.

Many of the most affected businesses are not necessarily able to take advantage of these programs because they're still simply trying to get their own lives in order. Records for thousands of businesses were simply destroyed because of the storm damage. This includes insurance information, everyday business records necessary to reconstitute business activities for the past several years, and other documents that lenders often require.

This doesn't mean that these loan programs aren't worthwhile. It means that a better job vetting the companies that seek the aid under these programs must be accomplished so that those companies most affected can obtain the aid. Inevitably, we'll hear horror stories of businesses in the hardest hit areas of the Gulf Coast unable to receive aid because the monies went elsewhere. It would be criminal to learn that it was some business in Omaha, Nebraska that got $20,000 which could have helped restart a construction business in Waveland or Bay St. Louis.