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.

Governor-Elect John Kasich

I have not written much about John Kasich in the last year. This was not a conscious decision on my part; but more because I had a “wait and see” mentality throughout the campaign. Until I made my final decision in early October to vote for Libertarian Ken Matesz, my jury was always out about Mr. Kasich.

I respect him, his passion, and his ability, but I do not trust him. As my Congressman (12th District), I admired his willingness to tackle the Washington insiders with his work on alternative federal budgets. On the other hand, his relationship with Lehmann Brothers troubles me, because I have to wonder how much he was influenced by Eastern Establishment values. In short, Gov. Strickland’s charge resonated with me.

His actions since the election make it clear that he will not pussyfoot around about resolving the $8 billion deficit. We all know there really is not much fat in state government today given the missions it has been asked to take on by the feds and the General Assembly. Yet a deficit that size (approximately one-seventh of the entire biennial budget) will have to cut a lot of muscle. When coupled with his desire to reduce the tax burden in Ohio, he will need both guts (which I know Mr. Kasich has) and creativity (which remains to be seen). A surgical approach won’t be good enough. Mr. Kasich will have to wield the meat axe.

His warning to the Statehouse lobbyists last week is a good start, as long as he is sure the Republicans in the General Assembly are solidly behind him. The pork barrel is just as ingrained in the culture of state government as it is in the federal. Changing that culture will take a great deal of courage and determination from our state legislators.

Mr. Kasich will defeat his own purpose if he thinks that state government services can simply be turned over to private contractors. Contractors usually cost more than state employees, and if my twenty years’ experience in state government is any indication (and I have had considerable exposure to contractors in my work), their efficiency rarely justifies the added expense. Furthermore, Ohioans have legitimate concerns about contracting out functions related to public safety, including prison management.

To successfully achieve his objectives, Mr. Kasich will have to risk losing “federal funds” for a while, so that he can redesign the safety net in an affordable manner. He will have to support a legislature that is willing to practice nullification aggressively, especially where the feds attempt to mandate additional state spending. He will need to aggressively lobby the Congress not just to scale back, but eliminate most of its fiscal demands on state governments.

Mr. Kasich will have to communicate a vision that will inspire the people of Ohio to sacrifice today for a better tomorrow. No politician in recent memory has even attempted to do this, but the next four years are going to be very hard ones with the best of policies. Part of that sacrifice will be for already cash-strapped Ohioans to help their neighbors in need – personally and through their churches and community organizations.

This approach is the only one that holds with it the hope of preserving and strengthening a free society in hard times. Failure to act boldly will result in the destruction of our state government – and all of our freedom. On the other hand, success will bring us out of this crisis greatly strengthened, both materially and spiritually.

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.

Mr. Kasich is right (this time)

Clevelanders are anxious about the possibility that basketball star LeBron James will leave the Cavaliers. They have even recruited Gov. Ted Strickland to urge LeBron to stay on. They tried to recruit John Kasich, and failed.

Not because Mr. Kasich is unsympathetic to the cause, but because he believes that a governor should have better things to do.

According to Cleveland.com:

[Fox News host Alan] Colmes asked Kasich if he were governor, what he would do to help persuade James to stay in Ohio.

"Alan, we've lost 400,000 jobs out here and the last guy I worry about is LeBron James. You know I mean, we all hope he'll stay in Cleveland. We think we've got a great guy there that can turn everything around, but we got some serious problems," Kasich said. "

Yes we do have some serious problems, and we need a Governor who has better things to do than to urge one professional basketball player to stay home. I have some doubts about John Kasich as Governor, but on this point, he is correct. His answer should be a model for politicians who let themselves be drawn into trivial matters.

And, for the record, I strongly favor LeBron staying in Cleveland, too; but if the Cavaliers franchise is not willing to pay him what the market will bear, he has the right (and the obligation to himself) to do what works best for him.

John Kasich to run for Governor

It's official, according to Mark Silva at the Chicago Tribune. Former Congressman John Kasich is filing to run for Governor next year. Mr. Kasich is well respected among conservatives and moderate Ohioans who know of his career in the Congress, particularly in his role as a deficit hawk.

Mr. Silva continues:

"Kasich already is on the circuit: He served as the keynote speaker at the Richland County Republican Lincoln Day over the weekend and at a Columbiana County GOP dinner this week.

"'We've been drifting and we've got to stop it,' Kasich said at his most recent dinner. 'Ted Strickland is a nice man, but he's a caretaker governor when we need a man of action.'

"Kasich described the state of Ohio that he first came to know in the 1970s and said the state has come to have higher taxes and unemployment with fewer people to support it all.

"'The most important thing is to point out we need a major change in Ohio's economics,' he said. 'We need to restructure Ohio's government to help bring down the economic barriers so we can have good, high-paying jobs in Ohio.'"

Virtual buckeye to syclone538 at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

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.

Jobs

Anyone who has followed Ohio politics for more than 25 years or so finds it difficult to hear the word "jobs" in political discourse without thinking of James A. Rhodes (left) who dominated Ohio politics during his sixteen years as Governor (1963-1971, 1975-1983). He was a man obsessed with the idea that every Ohioan should have a decent job. The accomplishments for which he is most remembered are the expansion of vocational and technical high schools, and the creation of a system of community colleges, both of which continue to prepare young (and often, not so young) Ohioans for the workplace.

As everyone knows, Ohio has been dragged out from the industrial era kicking and screaming -- and almost 30 years after Youngstown Sheet went down the tubes, Ohio politicians are still kicking and screaming; so when John Kasich (right) "welcomes" the thought that he is a "reincarnated Jim Rhodes", he is strikng a nerve for many Ohioans.*

Ohio desperately needs a paradigm shift.

Most of us realize, at least instinctively, that our service-based economy is not going to last much longer. The currency is going to hyperinflate, goods from abroad will become unaffordable due to high oil costs (and the depreciated dollar), and multinational corporations aren't going to make their bucks off the American consumer, because the American consumer isn't going to have the money to spend.

"Jobs" are of vital importance only in an industrial economy, where large corporations employ 30-40% of the workforce. In the economy we had two hundred years ago, toward which I believe we are returning, having a "job" conveyed a very different meaning.

Two hundred years ago, a job was something a slave had; or a man who was too poor, timid, or unintelligent to run his own business. Those who were poor, but ambitious, saved their wages to buy the tools they needed to get out on their own as soon as they could.

Everyone else ran a farm, a store or local bank, or made something -- bread, tools, wagons, barrels, whatever. Enterprise was free because no one was large enough or powerful enough to corrupt the system. Competition was brutal, but you had control of your own destiny, and learned to adapt your business to the market -- or if you failed, you looked for a job.

It is not the function of the state to create jobs. It is the function of the state to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to compete on a level playing field, by ensuring that every child has the opportunity to get a useful education, by protecting the sanctity of contracts, and by protecting our property from force and fraud.

If the state wants to strengthen the Ohio economy, it would secede to get out from under the federal tax burden; then reduce taxes and entitlements to a point where it becomes profitable for ordinary people to go into business for themselves. It can review banking regulations to remove any barriers to lending to small business.

But what the state should not do is to continue our feckless search for industrial jobs, which, by now we should know will never return.

It's time to move on, Ohio, and neither Mr. Kasich nor Gov. Strickland seem to have the foggiest idea how to do it. We do have an alternative. Consider Ken Matesz (Libertarian) for governor who appears to be on the right track.

One thing is clear, Ohio will not recover until Ohioans change the way they think about politics and the economy.


* I agree with Joe Hallett at the Columbus Dispatch that the comparison is inaccurate, if for no other reason than that Gov. Rhodes did not have Mr. Kasich's conservative ideology, but the point of this post is to discuss what Mr. Kasich wants the voters to believe.

The Gubernatorial Debate -- a waste of time

I just got off from watching the major party candidates argue their cases on the Ohio News Network (video). It was a disappointing exercise in repeating the same charges, usually with no substantiation, and same statistics over and over again.

Mr. Kasich repeatedly charged that Gov. Strickland had increased taxes twice during his tenure, while Gov. Strickland insists that he lowered the Ohio income tax by 17%. Which of them is telling the truth -- or is Gov. Strickland using the Ohio income tax decrease to cover increases in other taxes?

Gov. Strickland was fond of emphasizing Mr. Kasich's experience at Lehmann Brothers as evidence of "Wall Street, not Main Street values," which appeared to gain traction when he noted that Mr. Kasich earned a bonus of over $400,000 the year Lehmann Brothers went under. Mr. Kasich, for his part, stressed the role he played in capitalizing the growth of Ohio business. This has been a continuing theme in the Governor's campaign, which raises a troubling thought: is he so desperate that he has to resort to negativity -- something incumbents rarely have to do?

Neither candidate offered any proposals for covering the $8 billion shortfall in Ohio's budget for fiscal year 2012. The only candidate to address that issue was not permitted to attend -- Libertarian Ken Matesz, who announced his plan on Monday.

We have to start taking a serious look at the candidates who will offer solutions to Ohio's problems, regardless of their party label (or absence of one). Too much is at stake to practice politics as usual this year.

Update 9/15: Usually, I have some problems with National Review Online's neoconservatism (here via National Public Radio, of all places), but Mytheos Holt's analysis has it nailed. And I totally agree, Ohio's major-party gubernatorial campaign is an exercise in class warfare that has no class to it whatsoever. (Virtual buckeye to Ken Matesz at Facebook)

State employee still supports Issue 2

To hear and read the propaganda swirling around this issue, one would think my headline would appear in a newspaper -- because public employees appear to be a monolithic bloc standing against the issue to limit collective bargaining rights. The bill this issue seeks to repeal (SB 5) is not perfect, as I wrote March 31 when the General Assembly sent it to Governor Kasich, but I still favor its passage.

Both sides distort the truth. Proponents allegedly use actors and Republican Party operatives to portray public employees in support; but opponents are laying on the emotion very thickly when they argue, "SB 5 hurts us all."

Here are some of the Ohio County and State Employees Association's arguments against Issue 2, as documented in their Public Employee Quarterly for Fall 2011 (not online):

·       Issue 2 is unfair because "OCSEA members have sacrificed over $350 million in pay cuts and health care concessions, while politicians have taken a pass." The article notes that Gov. Kasich is paid $10,000 more than was Gov. Strickland, but Gov. Kasich could not have received that "hefty pay increase" without the approval of the prior legislature, one house of which was Democratic. The fact that elected officials and their immediate staffs are not covered by Issue 2 really means that Issue 2 does not go far enough.

·       State employees worked 20 days without pay in the last two years, paid more into their health care, and had steps and personal leave frozen. Also true. But it isn't as though private enterprise employees have had a free pass the last few years. And frankly, our health care is exceptionally good and exceptionally economical. Step increases make no rational sense from a business perspective. We also have much more vacation time than most private-sector employees, so I do not buy into the personal leave argument. This is a bill to help state and local governments balance their budgets. They will not balance as long as they are forced to pay exorbitant payroll costs, including for a lot of time that is not worked. It is also unfair to expect Ohio's working taxpayers to foot the bill for employees who are substantially more privileged than they are, even though we appear to be comparably paid.

·       Collective bargaining will be taken away. Partially true. Unions will still be able to negotiate wages and salaries, but not working conditions. This is a legitimate concern for safety workers, especially corrections guards – and is something that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

·       "Public employees deserve democracy and a voice in the workplace. This is exactly what we're fighting for overseas and why I am volunteering [in the campaign to oppose Issue 2]." I would like to see the private corporation (other than the few that are employee-owned) that gives its employees "democracy in the workplace." The reservist who made this comment needs a reality check. The best-run companies give their employees a voice in the workplace, but not a controlling one.

·         "If we do not repeal SB 5 by voting NO on Issue 2, who's to stop state government from reverting back to the days of cronyism when merit was based on skin color, sex, political affiliation, and everything in between." Or on loyalty to the unions or bribery? To some extent, these concerns are addressed by civil rights laws. Beyond that, the best way to ensure fairness is to build a free and open market for labor and to encourage entrepreneurship for minorities and women. If we consider it human nature for like to employ like, then spreading around the opportunity to create new business will ensure that more of us will have a fair opportunity to get jobs and promotions.

An investigation by the Columbus Dispatch into Issue 2 reveals very little about the likely impact the bill will have on state employees or the taxpayers. There simply are too many variables.

However, we cannot go on the way we have. State government without reform is not sustainable on the long run, even if we increase taxes to pay for what we have. There are legitimate concerns about Issue 2, as I expressed last March, to which I would add one expressed recently that teachers' merit pay would be tied to academic test scores, which would make one of public education's most glaring flaws even worse. Again, the bill needs amendment.

However, at the end of the day, I continue to support Issue 2 for the same reasons that the Cleveland Plain Dealer did when the newspaper endorsed it yesterday:*

.. Ohio desperately needs to control the costs of government at all levels. It needs to send a clear message that the old, familiar ways of doing the public's business have to change.

In schools, the emphasis has to be on the progress of children, not the comfort of adults. In city halls and county offices, the impact on those who pay the bills -- and the sheer magnitude of those bills -- must be paramount…

Imperfect though it may be, Issue 2 will give local governments and school districts more tools to control labor costs and protect taxpayers. It requires public employees to make the same kind of contributions toward their health and pension benefits that most private-sector workers do. It ends state-mandated wage step-ups, requires performance-based pay and permits layoffs based on more than seniority. Those factors are especially important to school districts such as Cleveland that need to transform themselves in the face of outmoded state rules that force them to toss aside newer -- and perhaps better -- teachers when money is tight…

Polls consistently show that Ohioans like many aspects of Senate Bill 5, but not the nasty tone behind it. When this campaign ends, Kasich has a chance to be a healer. He must not pass it up.

Nor should Ohio pass up this opportunity to break with an unsustainable status quo. Yes, change is scary. But look around: Not changing is even scarier.

When they mark their ballots, Ohioans cannot worry about what is best for any political party or interest group -- on either side of this debate. They need to consider what's best for the future of their children, their communities, their state.

They need to pass Issue 2.

Amen.

Update Oct. 18: The Columbus Dispatch reports on the concessions that public employee unions have made to state government since 2008. In my experience, the facts reported are correct; but reciting them misses the point -- it is still unfair to expect taxpayers, many of whom are un- or underemployed, to support public employees to a greater extent than other working Ohioans are supported by private enterprise.

* The Columbus Dispatch endorsed Issue 2 on Monday.

SB 5 passes House, awaits Gov. Kasich's signature

Here is the Associated Press's take, from the Washington Post website. The bill's passage was prominent in the national news last night.

The bill passed by a vote of 53-44. Two Republican State Senators who objected to the bill, Timothy Grendell (R-Chesterland) and Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) questioned its legality. I have extensively discussed the ramifications of the bill with a teacher in the Support SB5 Facebook page. News reports indicate that, for teachers, the bill will base merit heavily on test scores. This basically is forcing teachers to teach by rote, which only forces facts down children. It does not teach them to think or reason. I am not familiar enough with education to suggest a better way to reward merit in education; but I cannot believe that one does not exist. The teaching profession will be hard-hit by this bill; and I would urge the members of the House-Senate conference committee to weigh these concerns heavily when finalizing the bill for Gov. Kasich's signature.

I have supported SB5, and continue to do so; but I am not satisfied with the result. The purpose of the bill should be to help the State of Ohio contain payroll costs, not to punish certain groups of workers or impose burdens unevenly across state employees. With this in mind, I quote with approval a statement by State Rep. Matt Szollosi (D-Oregon, reported in the Columbus Dispatch): 

These are not numbers on a page or lines on a graph, they are people with families ... and they do not deserve to be slapped in the face and put further into harm's way because liberty groups or tea party groups or whoever is pulling the Republican strings right now have demonized public workers.

From being involved with the Support SB5 Facebook discussion, I can tell you that far too many supporters have demonized public workers. This is just as wrong as the selfishness shown by many of its opponents. Far too few of us (on either side) are even trying to look at this issue rationally.

The unions are expected to call for a referendum in November to repeal this bill. The campaign will be bitter and will divide the state politically in a way that we have not experienced since the Right to Work debate in 1958. Unions may be smaller and less powerful than they were 53 years ago, but they still command a great deal of support.

We can only hope that Gov. Kasich and the Republican leadership in the General Assembly have soberly weighed the advantages of SB5 against what could become a very long, hot summer.

Republican buzz alert!

In the wake of yesterday's sound and fury, we now have Mr. Kasich announcing his second major policy initiative, "regulatory reform." The blurb introducing the story in today's Hannah Report (it was e-mailed -- no link available) reads:

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich promised what he called "common sense" regulatory reform during a press conference outlining his campaign's second major initiative.

And this means, what... ? Shuffling some organizational charts, maybe?

The only meaningful "regulatory reform" will come when the powers of government are significantly reduced -- at the state as well as at the federal level.

I don't think Mr. Kasich has that any more on his mind than Gov. Strickland does.

If he really wants to do something constructive, he will give us a realistic plan for eliminating the $8 billion budget deficit -- which necessarily will involve a major reduction in the size of state government (assuming that he does not want to raise state taxes to confiscatory levels -- something that usually does not sit well with the GOP).

Ohio jobs: a shocking view of the numbers

The Kasich for Governor campaign blog has published an internal memo giving the unemployment statistics in Ohio over a period of years:

MEMO
TO: John Kasich

FROM: Ben Kanzeg, Deputy Policy Director

DATE: October 21, 2009

SUBJECT: Latest Jobs Numbers

Just an update on Ohio’s jobs numbers for September.

Notice that while the unemployment rate went DOWN to 10.1%, Ohio actually LOST 5,900 jobs in the month of September.

September Numbers

UNEMPLOYMENT- U.S. Unemployment was 9.8% in September, up from 9.7% in August.- Ohio’s unemployment rate was 10.1% in September, 12th highest in the nation, down from 10.8% in August, and up from 6.8% in September of 2008, one year ago- Ohio’s unemployment rate of 10.1% is the highest it’s been in 25 years (Jan 1984)- The number of unemployed workers has increased by 190,000 in the past 12 months.

JOB LOSS/GAINS AS OF OCTOBER 21, 2009- Ohio lost 5,900 jobs in the month of September:
- Ohio lost 155,000 jobs in 2008
- Ohio has lost 174,600 jobs so far in 2009
- Ohio has lost 258,100 jobs over the last 12 months.
- Ohio has lost 329,600 jobs since Ted Strickland became Governor.
- Ohio has lost 388,900 jobs since the last national recession ended in November of 2001. Twenty-two states lost jobs during this period, and only Michigan fared worse than Ohio.
- The last national recession ended in Nov 2001, the most recent recession started in Dec 2007. During this period of time Michigan lost 250,000 jobs and Ohio lost 58,000 jobs. Every other state added jobs to their economy.

At this writing there were 28 comments to this entry, most of them very thoughtful. Five of them are worth reproducing here (Emphasis added):

Mike Slone:

The numbers above indicate that most of the 2008 jobs loss occurred in the last couple months of the year.It would appear that much of this loss was due to the failed work of our congress and senate over the last several years, despite many warnings from people like Senator McCain our country refused to direct financial responsibility towards wall street. Now our country is actually encouraging fiscal irresponsibility to the American public asking them to take out loans on cars they can not afford, and then encouraging finance companies to make those loans. Our government is also taking a role in the private sector, and closing more auto plants than ever in history. Easy fix, get Gov out of Business and make them do their jobs.

Mark:

The problem with jobs in Ohio is serious, but it is not going to be fixed with political pablum. Until the legislature and governor get away from the pervasive attitude that it is the government’s role to take care of the citizens, there will never be enough will to cut the unnecessary spending and overburdening control that hamstrings the Ohio economy. The same is true for the US economy – every “stimulus” bill puts us further in debt, further down the road to ruin. If you’re serious about fixing Ohio, then quit trying to make government be the fix. Instead, just get rid of the burdens government places on the economic engine – people and their businesses.

Nate:

If you consider just central Ohio and ask what has made it prosper over many years you would have to conclude that the area has witnessed the start of a lot of small companies which ultimately became large employers. The Limited, Worthington Industries, Cardinal Health, Wendys, Bob Evans, Bank One, Huntington Bank to name a few.

The one thing that all of these companies have in common is that they were brought public by little local firms with capital that was raised, for the most part, from the local community. In short, the local community raised equity to support local employers. Now ask yourself, when was the last time that a central Ohio company came public?

Becasue of excessive government regulation the companies that did this work have all sold out to major, primarily New York, investment houses who are not interested in Central Ohio. We need a governor who will lead us back to what works, the same thing that has worked in the past. Lets not look to Washington for help. A governor needs to get the government out of our way.

Carol Bensing:

One of the main things each state has to do is fight for its sovereignty against the Federal government. Number two is a balanced budget done by going through every state pay out and eliminating any programs that are redundant and especially those that are pure pork payouts for votes. Instead of getting casinos to take up the slack in revenue the state should be cutting spending across the board. If public schools aren’t educating our children we should be using vouchers, Many states have successful programs that could be copied instead of starting from scratch.These are in addition to some of the great comments already posted here.

Dr. Thomas Pampush:

Ohioans are so oppressively taxed that I have urged the younger members of my extended family to flee as soon as they graduate college. If they want to engage/start up in business, do it elsewhere. (this is, of course, true of the whole US. Taxes make our goods so expensive to make here that, to remain competative, industry must move offshore.) * ...

Eschew “hands across the aisle.” This is just Republican capitulating to Dems.

I really think that Ohio could be made an economic oasis by reducing taxes to a realistic level. Our present government attitude kills the goose that lays the golden egg.

Thank you, Kasich campaign, for sharing the memo with us; and to the commenters. Ohio has always had a wealth of practical wisdom -- the problem lies with those who would ignore or suppress it. I know the idea of independence runs against the grain of many good, practical, people; but reading the above, what better solution exists for the excesses of government? What else hasn't been tried and failed?

* If that isn't a call for independence, I don't know what is!

Secessionists on the "lunatic fringe"?

Now that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has made secessionism impossible to ignore, the mainstream media are falling all over themselves trying to ridicule both the secessionist and State sovereignty movements as lunatic fringe movements.


Here are a few examples:

- Akron's Ben Keeler reports that the Cleveland media ignored a turnout of 2,000 to Cleveland's Tea Party Wednesday. He also observes that leftist protestors broke up a speech by former Colorado Congressman Tim Tancredo opposing unrestricted immigration at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The demonstration was so rowdy that Mr. Tancredo had to stop his speech and leave the scene. [But then we have known for some time that public universities don't exist to promote free inquiry, don't we? -- HT]

- I usually prefer to leave Rebellion alone when it battles the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), but when they try to smear Tea Party protestors as "Neo-Nazis, militias, secessionists, and racists," they are crossing a line that shouldn't have been crossed. Even the charge of "secessionist", while it applies to me, certainly does not apply to the great majority of people who appeared at the Tea Parties. Most Americans aren't prepared to think about secession yet -- but with tactics like these, they might be encouraged to do so!

- Rob Williams at Vermont Commons weighs in with an observation from Fox News (which Mr. Williams calls "faux news") commentator Geraldo Rivera, asserting that "you would have to be a lunatic to be a secessionist." (video at link) Then again, I never considered Geraldo Rivera to be a serious journalist...

- Also from Vermont Commons: an observation from Cornell Law professor William A. Jacobson about how talk of secession was just fine with the Left during the previous Administration. How the Left gets away with such bold hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me.

- U.S. News blogger John Aloysius Farrell tries to thoroughly discredit the idea of an independent Texas. Fortunately, the article is laced with ridicule and namecalling. (Fortunately, because it speaks to the weakness of his intellectual arguments).

I attended the Tea Party at the Statehouse Apr. 15 as one of an estimated 7,000 participants. (Figure sounds about right -- the lawn was packed). The crowd seemed pretty well grounded to me. Anyone who has ever known former Congressman John Kasich should know he is smart enough not to pander to a "lunatic fringe" movement, especially if he wants to be elected Governor of Ohio next year. (Keep in mind that Ohio is not exactly a classic "red state" and that Mr. Kasich has a moderate reputation to protect, so he cannot afford to risk it on associations with "wingnuts".)

I don't think anyone I know would call me a "lunatic," but I will embrace "extremist" -- as in:

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), quoted by Barry Goldwater in his 1964 acceptance of the Republican nomination for President.

Cautionary note for Tea Parties

Sarah Palin energizes big tea party rally in Nashville.
Big mistake.

Here's why:

Sarah is urging the Republican Party to embrace the Tea Parties. Republican Chairman Michael Steele thinks that's a good idea. But does anyone really think the Tea Party movement will retain its integrity once it folds into the GOP?

From the Wall Street Journal coverage:

Organizers here seek to shift the focus from staging political rallies to winning elections. "The Tea Party movement is growing up," said Judson Phillips, a Nashville-based criminal-defense lawyer who organized the National Tea Party Convention. "If 2010 is another year of rallies, we've lost."

Rallies have value, but Mr. Phillips has a point.

Sarah Palin didn't kill Tennessee's Tea Party movement -- the movement committed suicide when it invited her. The reason it committed suicide was that the leadership apparently still clings to the notion that the federal government can be reformed -- which is the only reason to invite a national political figure (as opposed, say, to Judge Napolitano or Thomas Woods).

Federal tyranny can only be overthrown through action at the state level. There are a few politicians at the state level who can strengthen the movement, such as Georgia First Ray McBerry and the Vermont Nine; but in general, Tea Parties should be wary of establishment politicians.

This particularly goes for Ohio, where the movement takes a risk by inviting candidate for Ohio Governor John Kasich to speak. There are points of agreement, but the effect of supporting Mr. Kasich will be similar to that Nashville experienced in supporting Sarah Palin.

Back to the Wall Street Journal article:

The movement's electoral mettle will face further tests as Republican primary elections take place across the nation ahead of the November general election. At a Friday session at the convention here, activists here discussed how to coalesce around conservative candidates early in primary contests to avoid losses by splitting their votes.

"We've got to wise up to that. We need to size up candidates early and get behind them," said Bruce Donnelly, an Illinois-based businessman who created SurgeUSA, a Web site that vets primary candidates.

Attendees were urged not to spend their money traveling to Tea Party rallies in 2010, and to support political candidates instead. The message resonated with Janet Smith, a 70-year-old wife of a retired preacher, who was thinking about attending a Tea Party rally planned for September in Washington, D.C. "Maybe instead it's time to find good candidates," she said.

Correct. But Tea Partiers: don't waste your time on Congress and the Senate. If your candidates did win, they would have zero influence once they got to Washington. Concentrate on your state legislatures and Governors! Support nullification of health care, firearms regulation, and Real ID!
Support letting your states make their own decisions free of federal meddling!

The way to freedom goes through the state capitols, not the one in Washington.

Ken Matesz is committed to cutting the income tax

In fact, the Libertarian candidate for Ohio Governor is committed to cutting it out. In this video he observes that one of his opponents [Republican John Kasich] is starting to back away from his announced intention to do the same. Mr. Matesz explains why he is holding fast, and why it is important for Ohio that the tax be eliminated, along with the $7 billion it represents.

Unfortunately, he did not discuss how he would handle the budget in light of such a cut; but he has promised another video in which this issue will be addressed. Mr. Matesz's website is www.mateszforohio.com .

Sherrod Brown wants to go easy on the debt ceiling

It probably would not come as a shock to any of my readers that our U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D) and I do not see eye-to-eye on very much. However, his position on the national debt is particularly troublesome. Following is his reply to an e-mail I sent him about two weeks ago urging him to hold the line on raising the debt limit (Emphasis added. My quote feature isn't working, so Sen. Brown's words are in italics and in quotation marks):
"Thank you for getting in touch with me about the federal government debt ceiling.

The current debt limit was reached in mid-May. The Department of Treasury can take some steps to put off the day of reckoning, but its efforts will only finance the government until July.

"Failure to raise the debt ceiling would be reckless. Congress acted to raise the debt ceiling seven times under President Bush, and as unpleasant as it is, it must do the same under President Obama. Default would be a disaster for our country, our economy, and our children. As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke put it, defaulting on our debt would be a 'recovery-ending event.'”

Well, yes. You're right, Senator. Defaulting on our debt would be a "recovery-ending event." Whenever we decide to face the "day of reckoning" will be a recovery-ending event. And the fact that Congress irresponsibly increased the debt ceiling seven times under President Bush does not impress me at all. If anything, it shows that Congress will be Congress regardless of which party is in power.

"The upcoming vote on the debt ceiling is not a referendum on whether the deficit must be reduced — everybody agrees on that. It is a vote on whether we will pay our bills. If Congress were to vote down an increase in the debt ceiling, our economy would screech to a halt and the price the government pays to borrow — on old and any new debt — would skyrocket. Our deficit would spiral even further out of control. And across Ohio, small businesses, and local governments, and homeowners could face astronomical interest rate increases."

If Congress were to couple voting down an increase in the debt ceiling with large, even painful, cuts in spending, I am sure that the financial markets would respond with favorable interest rates. Senator, can we count on you to do that?

"Congress has never failed to increase the debt ceiling. It would be irresponsible to hold this vote hostage for the sake of political gamesmanship."

If working to put a stop to increasing the national debt, saving the dollar and avoiding hyperinflation, and keeping taxes in line is "political gamesmanship," I, for one, am in favor of "political gamesmanship."

"I look forward to working on a bipartisan basis in developing a framework to reduce the deficit this year. But defaulting on our debt would make deficit reduction virtually impossible."

 "Reducing the deficit" in baby steps (like President Obama's request to save $100 billion of a $3 trillion budget) will not reduce the debt. It will not save us from hyperinflation. It will not prolong the so-called "recovery." It will just keep things the way they are until it is too late to do anything at all.


It sounds to me as though your approach to the deficit is the same as Gov. Strickland's was. The result was that Gov. Kasich had to erase an $8 billion dollar deficit (equivalent to 15% of the entire state budget) all at once. The voters voted against that approach last November. You might want to keep that in mind, Senator.

"Thank you again for getting in touch with me. "

Youi're welcome.

Dennis Steele asks the tough questions

Second Vermont Republic advocate Thomas Naylor can get a little irritating sometimes, but when he makes a point, he packs a punch.

Vermont secessionist candidate for Governor Dennis Steele stunned his opponents at a recent debate in Hyde Park, when he asked them, “If you are elected governor, will you do everything in your power to bring home the Vermont National Guard troops from Afghanistan and Iraq and block any future attempts by the Federal Government to deploy them overseas? And if you are unsuccessful in bringing the Vermont troops home, will you call for Vermont to secede from the Union?”

Mr. Naylor reports:

Without exception the five neoliberal Democrats lined up behind the U.S. Commander in Chief marching in lockstep to the beat of the American Empire’s drum. They summarily rejected the idea of intervention on behalf of the Vermont National Guard troops to bring them home sooner. They made it abundantly clear that their loyalty lies first and foremost with the Empire, not with the people of Vermont. (Emphasis added).

His comment:

How is it possible that [they] continue to pledge their allegiance to the most materialistic, most racist, most militaristic, most violent empire of all-time? An empire which is owned, operated, and controlled by Wall Street, Corporate America, and the Israeli Lobby. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

We need to ask the same question of Gov. Strickland, Mr. Kasich, Mr. Spisak, and Mr. Matesz.* Where is their allegiance -- to the Empire, or to the people who will elect them?

* The latter two candidates represent the Green and Libertarian Parties, respectively.

Now, this IS unusual...

Joe Hallett at the Columbus Dispatch observed in his blog in late January that only one statewide officeholder is seeking re-election this year -- Gov. Ted Strickland.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher is running for the U.S. Senate, running against Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in the primary.

Auditor of State Mary Taylor is John Kasich's running mate for Lieutenant Governor (which in my opinion was a very bad decision on her part -- she would have been highly electable as Auditor and would have much more impact on state government in that office than she ever would as Lieutenant Governor).

Attorney General Richard Cordray replaced Marc Dann in midterm.

Treasurer Kevin Boyce replaced Mr. Cordray when he became Attorney General.


Should make for a very interesting election this fall!

How to fill the $8 billion budget hole

Ken Matesz, Libertarian candidate for Governor has an answer; but frankly, it takes my breath away. According to Marc Kovac at the Kent Record-Courier, Mr. Matesz wants to:

(Full text of speech)

• Eliminate the Ohio income tax by fiscal 2013


• Cut state spending by 40%


• Immediately stop all state borrowing


• Sell the Ohio Turnpike, the state universities, the Bureau of Workers Compensation, and all state parks and lands


• Allow video slots at horse racing tracks


• Reduce the prison population by 25,000 inmates

I do not agree with all the points in the plan above (the Ohio Turnpike is a net revenue source that we need right now, and I have some problems with selling all of the state parks; though perhaps some of them could be targeted for sale). But his plan has one cardinal virtue. It is a plan, in contrast to the silence of his opponents.

"Neither of my high-dollar, special-interest-supported opponents is prepared to make the tough choices that will position Ohio to become the freest, most business friendly, most family friendly and most productive state in the union," he said...

He added, "We don't need a few more decades of Democrats and Republicans with the same policies that got us to where we are today. There really is no difference between the policies of Kasich and Strickland. Both of them are big government politicians, big spenders, who continue to offer no real solutions."

Mr. Matesz's plan needs some tweaking; but again, at least it is a plan, and he deserves credit for formulating a solution to Ohio's toughest challenge. True leadership requires us as citizens to accept that the solution to a problem may be hard to take -- but will greatly benefit us later.

As I wrote in an earlier headline, Mr. Matesz has laid down the gauntlet. Will either of his opponents pick it up?

Remember, the lesser of two evils is still evil. Ohio needs solutions, not spin.

We need to set priorities!

Glenn Beck likes to compare President Obama to a magician by saying that we always have to watch what his other hand is doing. The powers that be have thrown so much at the liberty movement in the last year, that it is hard to know where to direct our efforts. This could be intentional. If we split ourselves into many different directions, none of us will be effective. 

One of my most persistent critics likens me to a "gerbil in a wheel, spitting out worthless posts about secession-is-just-around-the-corner almost daily," a comparison I find laughable, but one which could become apt if we fail to focus on priorities. 

As a business analyst, I have to recognize that there are three constraints to every project: time, cost, and people. You cannot cut all three at the same time. If you want something done faster, you need more people, more money, or both. If you cut costs or people, you will probably need more time. 

Applying this to Ohio's liberty movement, we need to ask – among the many urgent needs we have to regain our freedom, which should we tackle first?

I observe that we can express most of our requirements as pairs -- actions needed in Congress that can be complemented or replaced by state actions. I list these pairs below. Note that I am ignoring the state budget and SB 5 because both are certain to pass in some form, most likely in a way that will work in the direction of smaller government.

My question to my readers is, which of the following should we be pursuing first, second, and third? Please comment; even if it is nothing more than "1.x, 2.y, 3.z."

	Actions by Congress	Actions by the State of Ohio
a	Refuse appropriations for the Libyan war.	Governor Kasich to refuse deployment of Ohio National Guard to Libya.
b	Repeal national health care, or "Obamacare."	Nullify mandatory health care in Ohio (legislation).
c	Abolish the Federal Reserve Bank.	Authorize state and local tax payments in gold or silver: "Honest Money."
d	Balance the budget.	Intercept federal taxes (through the Ohio Department of Taxation) pending a state board or legislative ruling on the constitutionality of federal expenses.
e	Repeal the USA PATRIOT Act.	Nullify the use of body scanners and aggressive patdowns in Ohio airports.
f	Modify or repeal federal gun control laws.	Nullify gun control for weapons both made and sold in Ohio (intrastate commerce). (Note: link is to bill in previous General Assembly)
g	Repeal federal drug laws, particularly those related to marijuana.	Nullify federal prohibitions on the use of marijuana as a prescription drug.
h	Repeal federal food laws that affect intrastate commerce in farm produce.	Nullify federal regulation of farm produce both grown and sold in Ohio (Manna Storehouse – but note that Manna Storehouse was an abuse of state power).