What qualifications are needed by the top administrators of two key taxpayer programs -- the state 's educational investment program and unemployment insurance law division?

Common sense would dictate, at a minimum, expert knowledge in investments and unemployment insurance law.

Well, that 's not the case in Wisconsin.

In early May, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that Megan Perkins was hired to oversee EdVest 's $2 billion college savings program.

Job competitors included the program 's veteran deputy director and two financial experts. Perkins ' primary job qualifications were political aide to the state treasurer, projects coordinator to the governor 's wife and a field organizer for John Kerry 's state presidential campaign. Oh, and she has some innovative marketing ideas for the program.

Five days later, the State Journal reported that Daniel LaRocque was hired as the state 's top unemployment insurance lawyer.

Job competitors included the division 's veteran enforcement attorney and administrative law judge.

LaRocque 's job qualifications were a questionable employment history and a personal friendship with a former governor.

The LaRocque appointment is particularly costly. The state already has paid at least $324,000 in legal settlements to the two job candidates wrongfully overlooked.

Former Gov. Tony Earl and State Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass deserve some of the blame for these questionable hirings. But they merely made recommendations.

The real blame rests with those who chaired the hiring committees.

I 've sat on my fair share of hiring committees. Everyone, including the politically powerful, have the right to recommend people for jobs.

Then the job search committee evaluates all the candidates using multiple criteria. Typically, previous related job experience is weighted heavily.

Hal Bergan, a policy director during the Earl administration, violated several policies and procedures to ensure that Earl 's political friend got the job over more highly qualified candidates.

According to the press reports, John Lease, deputy treasurer under Sass, seems to have been the main culprit, though the two other search committee members were also Doyle loyalists.

Wisconsin deserves better than this. Some jobs are set aside for political appointments. But not these.

What to do?

There should be an independent investigation of these and similar jobs given to political loyalists with far less qualifications than other job applicants.

As a back-up plan, investigative reporters in the state media have more digging to do.

Collins is a professor of business ethics at Edgewood College in Madison.