Will the real Governor Kasich please stand up?

David Boaz at the Cato Institute thinks that our governor has become inhabited by an alien life form.

As Dennis Cauchon reports in USA Today, Ohio is spending $1.4 billion on economic development and consuming the work of 400 employees. Most other states are spending a few million. Our largest state, California, has only 25 employees working on it...

A USA TODAY review of two dozen of Ohio’s state-funded projects found many behind schedule or failing to deliver the jobs or investment returns promised.

Mr. Boaz then asks:

And what of Governor Kasich, once a budget-cutting House Budget Committee chairman and opponent of corporate welfare, who was once pictured on 60 Minutes with the Cato Handbook for Congress sitting on his desk? Kasich would stop this nonsense, right? Well, not quite:

Kasich, the new governor, has moved some programs into a quasi-private operation called JobsOhio that he hopes will be faster and more effective.

This new approach positions the government to act more like a risk-taking investor, [Kasich's economic development director Mark] Kvamme says….  [More here.]

Kasich is expanding Ohio’s tradition of large-scale, government-directed development programs. His new budget proposes spending an extra $100 million a year in liquor profits on economic development. That amount alone dwarfs economic development spending in almost every other state.

What have you done with John Kasich, Ohio? Is this like the movie Dave, where you’ve found an actor to stand in for the actual governor? If not, then I hope Governor Kasich will decide to add government-directed economic development to his list of needed budget cuts.

Such massive governmental handouts to private corporations at a time of fiscal duress violates the spirit, if not technically the letter, of the Ohio Constitution (Article VIII, Section 4):

The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever. (1851)

I think most Ohioans voted for the old budget-cutting Kasich, not the new corporation-building one. Please, let's have the old one back.

Gov. Kasich: "I don't need your people."

So said State Rep. Sandra Williams from the legislative Black Caucus in the video linked here (from WCMH NBC4 in Columbus), who insists that Gov. Kasich told the caucus "quote, I don't need help from you people, unquote." (at 1:31). The Governor's office then insisted that what he meant was that he did not need the help of partisan Democrats. Such a disclaimer is lame following such an impolitic outburst.

We know by now that Gov. Kasich is (1) passionate and (2) sometimes very intemperate in his remarks. Ohio, with its $8-$10 billion budget crisis needs all the help he can get. Some Democrats could be persuaded to support the Governor's plans if he approaches them with a collaborative attitude; but he probably did lasting damage with this gaffe.

I do not agree with Rep. Williams that Gov. Kasich was trying to be racist, and the Governor's Office has shown that he has tried to recruit minorities for Administration positions. I also think that trying to fix quotas by race, sex, etc., is not the way to ensure that your Administration will have all the best people.

However, I do feel very strongly that everyone should be treated with respect, and that the Governor should try to listen more carefully to other opinions. If he cannot learn to do these two things, he will end up in the same fix as George W. Bush -- even his own friends will start abandoning him. And that would be a tragedy for Ohio.

Governor John R. Kasich

John Kasich is a passionate man. He is anxious to roll up his sleeves and solve the problems that have plagued Ohio for over a generation. Because he is passionate, he is vulnerable to being portrayed as the bull in a china shop and prone to the occasional gaffe (such as an opinion he expressed last month about state employees). He left a bad taste in many mouths for the rabid negativism of his campaign against Gov. Ted Strickland. It seems, however, that political campaigning brings out the worst in otherwise worthy and virtuous people. On the other hand, I remember him as an energetic Congressman who wanted to show the American people what fiscal responsibility looked like; and partly as a result of his prodding, the federal budget was balanced from 1998 to 2000.

The purpose of an inaugural address* is to set the tone for an administration, to help the citizens understand where the new Governor is coming from, and to provide a general direction. Policy matters are deferred to the State of the State address, usually given in March.

The inaugural address, which Gov. Kasich says he wrote on Christmas Day, did not convey the arrogance that sometimes came across during the campaign. Rather, it was a statement of his fundamental values: faith, family, friends, and teamwork.

On teamwork:

I want to thank Ohioans, all Ohioans, for giving me the chance to form a team. To form a team. And to transform our great state. You know, years ago, I used the word “I” an awful lot. I don’t know whether it is age or whether it’s prayer or it’s the constant beating that my friends give me, but it’s not “I” any longer. It’s “we.” I learned long ago working with my great pal [U.S. House Speaker] John Boehner, only teams, only teams can accomplish great things. And you know, ’ole Woody was right, there is no “I” in team. And together, we, as Ohioans, can get this job done.

You know, my inauguration, the conductor of a great orchestra, with all of you playing an instrument in that orchestra, my inauguration is your inauguration. I want everyone to understand that I hope you can realize we accept this responsibility together. I have a sense that across Ohio, people know we have a challenge. So today, we’re all inaugurated into a better day. You know, I’m only a servant, I am only a servant, a public servant . I report to the people. I report to you, the people.

And, later, he said with refreshing humility, “I am a servant of the Lord.”

He shares an observation I have made in this space many times:

You see, Ohio has wide horizons, we have unlimited opportunity. Ohio is an exciting place. And I have come to understand as a grown man what Ohio is all about. We are about common sense. [Emphasis added]

Common sense. Reforming state government so it provides better services at less cost. With respect to doing more with less, this has been a mantra in state government since Gov. George Voinovich used those words in his first inaugural address twenty years ago. If anyone can bring innovation to Ohio government, it would seem to be John Kasich. It helps that he is supported in both houses of the Ohio General Assembly by Republican majorities.

Not that innovation will be easy:

It’s our mountain to climb. Can you see it? Can you see that mountain? I know you can. We can climb it. One step at a time. Helping each other to be strong. Together, that mountain, we will reach the summit.

When the going gets tough, when the legislature balks, when the newspapers are nipping at your heels, remember you said this, Gov. Kasich, and keep those words in your heart. In so doing, you will find success.

Best wishes for a successful Administration, Gov. Kasich.

* Text of Gov. Kasich’s inaugural address, from the Columbus Dispatch.

The Emperor has no clothes

We don't have to put the President through one of those body scanners -- he's already naked. So says Karen Kwiatkowski in LewRockwell.com in response to what she calls the "Cablegate" scandal occasioned by the release of classified documents on Wikileaks.

In her opinion, no federal agent will die ... unless it is of laughter. I cannot possibly do justice to her article in a summary; but assure you that the post is entertaining, as well as enlightening.

It is a fitting response to my more serious piece on Monday.

The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. (Psalm 37:12-13)