Gov. Haslam is touting a recent report saying Tennessee has one of the fastest growing economies in the U.S. But at what cost? And who's paying for it?

There's no good way to determine how many millions of taxpayer dollars the state has spent in the "corporate welfare" shell game to lure business (including some incentives that have not paid off).

Haslam also forgets to mention that:

• During the recovery from 2010 to 2012, average annual wages grew only 2.6% in Tennessee v. 3.1% nationwide.
• 14.9% of Tennessee residents are on food stamps, v. 10.2% nationwide.
• 18.4% of Tennessee's population is on TennCare, the state's version of Medicaid public health care assistance.
• Another 9.2% of Tennesseans are uninsured.
• 16.9% of Tennessee residents are living in poverty, v. 14.3% nationwide.
• Tennessee has the highest combined state and local sales tax in the nation.
• Tennessee unemployment is consistently higher than the U.S. rate.
• Tennessee is number one in meth abuse.

But hey, things are looking up for the governor and his wealthy pals, especially now that we have gutted workers comp, eliminated prevailing wage laws and protected negligent corporations from victims seeking justice.