Bravo, Rep. Keith Ellison! Bravo!

Rep. Keith Ellison spoke the truth recently to Faux News mouth piece, Sean Hannity.

HuffingtonPost:

Sean Hannity got an earful from Democratic congressman Keith Ellison on his Tuesday show. Ellison exploded at the Fox News host, calling him "the worst excuse for a journalist I've ever seen."

What made Ellison so angry was a short series of clips of President Obama that Hannity ran just before bringing him on. The clips, which showed Obama talking about the looming budget sequester, were scored to the famously apocalyptic "Carmina Burana." Hannity said Obama was guilty of fearmongering when he talked about the potential effects of the cuts the sequester would impose....

....Things did not get friendlier from there. Ellison also called Hannity a "shill for the Republican party," an "immoral" man, and said he was violating "every journalistic ethic" in the book. Eventually, Hannity cut the interview short, saying it was a "waste of time" to continue.

If you want to see the video, visit this HuffPost link. Sean Hannity and the entire Faux News group are nothing more than an extension of the Republican Party's propaganda machine.

>>>> Here some interesting news from Business First:

Ohio’s most influential group of attorneys is ready to fight Gov. John Kasich’s plan to extend the state sales tax to legal services.

The Ohio State Bar Association’s Board of Governors decided Tuesday to oppose the proposal and states its case to the General Assembly, which is considering Kasich’s two-year budget blueprint.

As we’ve reported, the governor wants to lower the state sales tax to 5 percent from 5.5 percent but extend the tax to dozens of professional and consumer services that are exempt from paying it.....

Yep! Gov. John Kasich, AKA Taxin' John, wants to tax real estate transactions, accountant services, day care bills, and pretty much everything else. Ohioans should get ready to be inundated with sales taxes on everything if his plan passes.


**** There is more evidence that Kasich has also cut money to local governments.
CityBeat:

A new Policy Matters Ohio report found local government funding has been reduced by $1.4 billion since Gov. John Kasich took office, leading to a nearly 50-percent reduction in state funding.

The report found local government funding dropped from nearly $3 billion in the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years — the years budgeted by former Gov. Ted Strickland — to about $2.2 billion in the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years — the first two years budgeted by Kasich. The governor’s most recent budget proposal would ensure the continuation of the downward slide, with local government funding dropping down to slightly more than $1.5 billion in the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years, according to the report....

John Kasich could not win with SB5/Issue 2, but he is still weakening our local services, and causing the layoffs of our first responders.

In the news....

*** One of Gov. John Kasich's favorite legislators, State Rep. Mike Duffey, is looking for some feedback from his constituents. Duffey, a Republican, was criticized in the last election for his failure to respond to his constituents, now wants to hear from those in his district. ThisWeekCommunityNews has this link to his "survey"-

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

tinyurl.com/DuffeyBudgetSurvey#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

           tinyurl.com/DuffeyBudgetSurvey  or  contact Mike Duffey at:                  

Mike Duffey (R)
District 21

77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 644-6030
Email Representative Duffey

Teachers may want to address Gov. Kasich's plan to do away with minimum salaries for teachers.

---------------

* While most Republicans and John Boehner have supported sequestration, Ohio people and businesses will see the results of Boehner's plans---

According to the MedinaGazette, as many as 13,000 civilian employees that work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base could be furloughed. That could be devastating to employees, their families, and businesses near the base.

***

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpu

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpuf

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpuf

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpuf

* The federal government has gone after some businesses in Ohio.
BusinessWeek:

Federal labor officials say the operators of two Mexican groceries in Ohio and a small chain of restaurants in the Columbus area have been fined and have agreed to pay back wages to more than 250 employees.

The U.S. Labor Department says the businesses failed to pay employees enough for the hours they worked and for overtime.

They are Los Tres Amigos Supermarket in Cincinnati, La Plaza Tapatia Supermarket in Columbus and three Jalapenos Mexican Restaurants in the Columbus area.....

This kind of behavior on the part of businesses is not only against the law, but also immoral. Why do some people refuse to honor and respect the right of workers?

Bad Numbers

I saw this over at HuffPost---the new Pew Research Poll:

At a time when the Republican Party’s image is at a historic low, 62% of the public says the GOP is out of touch with the American people, 56% think it is not open to change and 52% say the party is too extreme.

Opinions about the Democratic Party are mixed, but the party is viewed more positively than the GOP in every dimension tested except one. Somewhat more say the Republican Party than the Democratic Party has strong principles (63% vs. 57%).....

The old white guys of the Republican Party haven't been able to understand that their views on women, immigrants, college students, Social Security, minorities, the middle class, and the poor, are clearly tied to some ancient, Neanderthal beliefs.

>>> With a dwindling inventory of houses for sale, housing prices are going up, and people are anxiously shopping for homes, according to NBC News.

Save the Corporate Jet Tax Cut???

* Americans should be very upset with the looming sequester cuts because the Republicans continue to defend the tax loopholes for their very rich buddies.

ThinkProgress shines a spotlight on the Republican defenders of the rich and their protected corporate jet tax loophole. Here is a little slice of  Think Progress on the topic:

....not only are Rubio, Crapo and the rest defending a tax loophole for the most fortunate Americans, they’re completely misunderstanding it. As hard as it to believe, the private jet tax break is no “metaphor” or “code” for people making too much money — it is an actual loophole in the tax code that applies to private jets and not commercial ones. The provision, created in 1987, allows corporate jets to be depreciated over a five-year period rather than the seven-year period required for commercial ones. It has been defended and supported by Republicans since.

The more sophisticated conservative defense of special tax breaks private corporate jets, advanced by the Hertiage Foundation, among others, is that it was created by the stimulus package. As ThinkProgress’ Matt Yglesias explained, this myth too is bunk. 

While closing the loophole wouldn’t raise enough money to solve the deficit problem by any means, it points to the absurdity of much of the spending in the tax code and would surely be a step in the right direction. The conservative response to ending it, meanwhile, speaks to the priorities of their tax cut “theology” — fewer taxes for the wealthy above all else. 

You can practically hear Marco Rubio, and the rest of the Republicans shouting, "Save the rich! Protect their tax cuts for their corporate jets!!!" 

Shame on the Republicans for their unending support for this ridiculous tax cut.

Calling All Lawyers

It appears that lawyers in Ohio might have several new cases to pick up if the article and the comments are true. The Dispatch is reporting that a woman has filed suit against her former employer. The lawsuit was filed because her employer, allegedly, fired her for voting for the re-election of President Obama.

Dispatch:

...Patricia Kunkle’s lawsuit accuses Dayton-based defense contractor Q-Mark Inc. and its president of telling employees that if Obama was re-elected, then his supporters would be the first to be fired, The Dayton Daily News reported.
Brian Wildermuth, an attorney for the company president, said in a statement that Kunkle was laid off for economic reasons — “nothing more.”


....The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 14, seeks a minimum of $25,000. It says that Kunkle’s vote came up in conversation on Nov. 7, the day after the election, and that she was fired Nov. 9. The suit claims that the company’s president and owner, Roberta Gentile, said the firing was in the “best interest of the company.” 

What would happen if Q-Mark Inc. lost their contracts because of job discrimination?

Moms and Dads!

FreedomWorks has employment and internships open every summer. However, if your son or daughter comes home to tell you about an internship they've landed with FreedomWorks, you might want to have a serious talk with them.

RawStory:

The controversial conservative super PAC FreedomWorks created a promotional video that depicted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having oral sex with a woman in a giant panda suit, according to a report published on Thursday. 

Former FreedomWorks officials told Mother Jones‘ David Corn that an internal investigation was focusing on the group’s president, Matt Kibbe, and a possible area of inquiry was the video in question....

.....FreedomWorks tasked two female interns with the roles of Hillary Clinton and the giant panda. The panda suit was an “inside joke” used at rallies to mock Democrats for pandering to special interests......

Parents---
 There are plenty of other sources for this story. Just Google "FreedomWorks Panda" and you'll be shocked.  The last thing your son or daughter needs is a starring role in a politically-slanted sex tape.

*****

Gov. John Kasich's budget for Ohio schools has grabbed the attention of people in Texas, and it isn't very pretty.

The Houston Chronicle:

Questions remained Wednesday about Gov. John Kasich's new school funding plan, with critics charging that many public schools, including in poor districts, will be shortchanged even though the Republican insisted his proposal was focused on helping students....

.....some Democratic officials and education leaders have questioned Kasich's description, saying it doesn't offset earlier cuts to schools and it leaves most schools, including many poor districts, without additional dollars. They also question the plan's increased support for charter schools and expansion of private-school vouchers.

"The governor says he is increasing funding for education, but that's an empty promise," Ohio Education Association President Patricia Frost-Brooks said in a statement.

John Kasich can't even keep promises to Ohio's school children. Ohio taxpayers are preparing for many future school levies on their election ballots, while they worry that their children will suffer under the Kasich school budget cuts.

Stand Against Kasich

*** Ohio's working men and women must realize that if Gov. Kasich's budget passes, they'll be paying higher taxes. The middle class home owner will also be hit with more school levies and cuts to local schools. We must stand in opposition to Kasich and anyone that supports his insane budget.

> Republican Treasurer Josh Mandel has refused to just go back to work and do his job. Now he is standing in opposition to the health care law expansion in Ohio.  Mandel needs to be retired after his term. We've had enough of his self-promotion and superficial, Tea Party Republican talking points.

***  The Republicans has already dismissed President Obama's ideas on immigration reform. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said that the plan was "dead on arrival" (see TheHill).  There are some who've said that Rubio's plan is close to the same one from the President's desk. Rubio and his Republican obstructionists are continuing to be against anything that comes out of the White House. Adding this to their other lack of bipartisanship, you begin to wonder if there is something more that the Republicans are against. The Republicans might be showing some of their prejudice.

Speaking of Rubio.....
I particularly loved both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's reaction to Rubio's water drinking incident.

Kasich Prison Privatization Problems

Other people have noticed the massive prison privatization failure that had been promoted by Gov. John Kasich.

CentralFloridaFuture (University of Central Florida):

When Corrections Corporation of America spent $72.7 million for one of Ohio’s facilities, Gov. John Kasich thought this would serve as a model for other states stuck in a financial slump. However, it seems that Kasich’s privatization solution has only worsened conditions inside and outside of the barbed wire.

Shortly after becoming the first state prison in the country to be sold to the private company CCA in 2011, Lake Erie Correctional Institution has failed to meet several standards. The most shocking being denial of medical care to prisoners. Among the other infractions were delayed doctor appointments, negligence of those requesting nurse visitations and the inability to accommodate inmates with conditions such as diabetes and AIDS.

Other violations included those as fundamental as running water, working toilets and proper beds. Some inmates were even found using plastic containers and bags as improvised toilets. Without enough beds to go around, prisoners were triple bunked and forced to sleep on mattresses on the prison floor.....

The article reveals even more of the failures at the prison and shows that privatization is risky for the community, families of prison guards, inmates, and everyone except the corporations.

SOTUS

* President Obama's State of the Union Speech was inspiring. I loved his proposals on education, gun violence, the minimum wage, jobs, and other important issues. Yeah!

>>> Sen. Marco Rubio's speech last night was pathetic. He was just another Republican repeating the same talking points we've heard again and again. I just can't get over that awkward drink of water in the middle of his speech.



*** Ohio's legislators and school leaders across the state have become aware of the fact that Gov. John Kasich's budget does nothing to help Ohio's schools. Kasich's speech was pure b.s. and there is no substance behind his promises.

The Plain Dealer has more on Kasich's plan for our schools.

Oh!

Do you remember Republican Joe Walsh and his far right tea party Republican loud mouth rants? He is in the news again. (h/t DailyKos)

TalkingPointsMemo:

Former Rep. and Tea Party darling Joe Walsh has filed a request in Cook County Circuit Court to cease paying child support payments because he is no longer employed, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Monday:

In a Feb. 1 court filing entitled “motion to terminate child support obligation,” Walsh’s attorneys asked to change his support requirement, which under a previous agreement, was to continue until May.

“Joe’s employment has been terminated through no voluntary act of his own and he is without sufficient income or assets with which to continue to pay his support obligation,” the filing states. “Due to substantial change of circumstances, Joe requests that his child support obligation be terminated based on his present income and circumstances.”
.......


Joe Walsh is despicable.

The Republican Way

* School districts across Ohio are upset about Gov. John Kasich's school funding budget. It appears that poorer districts get nothing additional, while wealthy school districts get more.

AthensNews:

After experiencing deep cuts the past two years, Athens County school districts can expect no new money from the state for the next two years under Ohio Gov. John Kasich's education proposal that he rolled out earlier this month.

District-by-district figures were released Wednesday showing all five districts in Athens County flat-funded for 2014 and 2015. This after districts saw cuts in the millions of dollars in Kasich's first biennial budget, leading to the closure of Chauncey Elementary School and levy requests from several local districts.....

....All told, 368 districts across the state will get no additional funding over the next two years, including every district in 12 low-income Appalachian counties, according to the administration's numbers....
  
Ohioans are tallying up the reasons why Kasich should not be re-elected, and his disastrous attacks on public school funding will be added to the list.


* There are a number of people planning to attend the State School Board meeting tomorrow morning, Monday, to demand the resignation of Debe Terhar. Terhar was the Kasich appointee that compared President Obama to Hitler (see InnovationOhio for details).

* Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC ) has had some harsh words recently. Then again, Sen. Lindsey Graham doesn't seem to like anything President Obama does.  Now Lindsey Graham has issued a threat.

Slate:

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he plans to block President Obama’s nominees to head up the Department of Defense and the CIA until the White House releases more information about what happened on the night of the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. The South Carolina Republican says he won’t filibuster but he will try to put a hold on Chuck Hagel, the Defense nominee, and John Brennan, Obama’s choice to lead the CIA. Graham defended his stance saying that then-Sen. Joe Biden also asked for more information before a 2005 vote to confirm a nominee. “No confirmation without information," Graham said on CBS News....


Lindsey Graham's assault on United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice was viewed by many as racist, sexist, and unfair. Is Lindsey Graham willing to hold up important nominations just to satisfy his own prejudice and ego?

Getting Noticed

What do you know!  Gov. John Kasich's new budget has been noticed by others, including  DailyKos:

Ohio's Gov. John Kasich must be trying to earn back his extremist stripes after his decision to accept Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. He helped out Ohio's lower and moderate income folks with that, only to screw them with higher taxes—higher taxes that will pay for a tax break for wealthy.

The proposal would provide a $10,369 annual tax cut on average to taxpayers in the top 1 percent of the income spectrum, who made more than $335,000 in 2012. The bottom fifth of taxpayers, making less than $18,000 a year, would see an average increase of $63. Those in the middle fifth, making between $33,000 and $51,000 in 2012, would come out about even, averaging an annual tax increase of $8.

The plan includes an income tax cut for those at the top, along with extending the sales tax to services that aren't explicitly exempt. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy [ITEP] analyzed the plan for for Policy Matters Ohio, and estimates that the "top 1 percent on average will pay $781 more a year, while middle-income Ohioans will pay $165 and low-income residents, $71." But that $71 for low-income residents is a much larger share of their income.
John Kasich was hoping that you wouldn't notice that he is giving bigger tax cuts to the people who don't need it---the wealthy. With his planned sales tax on services provide by accountants, lawyers, and even downloaded books, Ohioans will find themselves paying more taxes on everything.

* School districts are also becoming aware of Kasich's lack of honesty when he introduced his budget plan for education. More that half of the school district in Ohio will not an increase in state funding.

Logan Daily News:


If Gov. John Kasich’s plan for the biannual budget is approved, the Logan-Hocking School District will not receive additional funding for Fiscal Year 2014 or 2015, but will match their totals from FY 2013. This could leave the LHSD to face a deficit of $1.1 million for FY 2015 under the most recent financial analysis conducted by LHSD Treasurer Paul Shaw.

If approved in its current form, the LHSD will be receiving $18,014,155 in funding from the state for each FY 2014 and FY 2015, which is the same amount received in FY 2013.

Shaw said he was disappointed with the news, and noted that of all the school districts in 12 Appalachian counties — including Hocking County — none will receive a funding increase under Kasich’s proposed budget....

The poorer districts are excluded from additional funding.  Looks like Kasich is waging war on the poor.

Money Saved for Seniors

****  Even though the Republicans spoke against it, President Obama has saved seniors millions of dollars in prescription drug costs.  USA Today:

Seniors have saved about $5.7 billion on prescription drugs since January 2011 because of provisions in the 2010 health care law meant to close the Medicare "doughnut hole," the government plans to announce today. 

"This discount has led more people to be able to afford their medication, which keeps them healthier and can help bring down costs in the long run," said Jon Blum, director of the Center for Medicare, part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

In 2012, seniors saved $2.5 billion on prescriptions, compared to $2.3 billion in 2011, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services. That's an average of $706 per person in 2012.

And 34.1 million Medicare beneficiaries used preventive services provided with no deductibles or co-pays in 2012.... 

President Obama should be thanked! 

-----------

> If you live in Ohio, you already know that the Republicans in the state like to make it as difficult as possible for people to vote---especially if those people are minorities, young people, women, and Democrats.  Pewstates has more:

3.6%  Provisional Ballots Cast

0.7%  Provisional Ballots Rejected

1  Voting Information Look-Up Tools Available

Overview
Overall EPI Average:
• 2008—60%
• 2010—64%

Chief Election Official: secretary of state
Absentee Voting: No-excuse—allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot without providing a reason

In-person Early Voting: Allowed

Notable Indicators
2008
• High rates of provisional ballots cast and rejected
• High rate of absentee ballots rejected
• Low rate of military and overseas ballots unreturned

2010
• High rates of provisional ballots cast and rejected
• High rate of absentee ballots rejected
• Added post-election audit requirement

Dumping in Ohio???

*** The drilling going on in Ohio has taken an ugly turn.

WFMJ:

A Valley lawmaker is demanding answers to important questions, after tens of thousands of gallons of oil and oilfield waste are dumped into a storm drain. Waste that has now found its way into the Mahoning River.

On Monday, the EPA and Ohio Department of Natural Resources continued directing the containment and clean-up. 

State Representative Bob Hagan says it's now estimated that up to 40,000 gallons of oil and oilfield waste has been dumped into a storm drain at 2761 Salt Springs Road. Property owned by D&L Energy.....

There is no going back from this. You cannot collect all the material that was dumped. You just have to wonder how much of this happened before and will occur in the future.

Background Checks

* President Obama has been continuing his campaign on background checks for gun ownership. Today, the President was in Minnesota.

NY Times:

President Obama traveled to the nation’s heartland to press his case for tougher gun laws on Monday, even as evidence mounted in Washington that expanded background checks on gun sales may emerge as a legislative compromise in the bitterly divisive cultural debate. 

In a city once called “Murder-apolis” because of its homicide rate in the 1990s, the president cited its successful gun violence prevention efforts as evidence that new national laws are needed to reduce the number of shootings across the country. 

“The only way we can reduce gun violence in this country is if the American people decide it’s important,” Mr. Obama said, standing in front of a sea of police officers and sheriff’s deputies at the Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations Center.... 

I totally agree with President Obama's goal of reducing gun violence and pushing for background checks for gun purchasers.  We've got to do whatever we can to prevent future tragedies involving guns.

>>>> Gov. John Kasich unveiled his budget today. You just wonder how he expects to make up for the tax cuts he'll be advocating. See the Dayton Daily News for details.  I'm interested in seeing his proposal for merit pay for teachers and were he'll get the money.

Getting Less for Less

* No matter what magic formula Gov. John Kasich proposes for funding for Ohio's schools, it is not enough. The good people at InnovationOhio explain it all:

Ohio Gov. John Kasich wants to increase state education spending by $1.2 billion over the next two years, but the proposed increase falls short of replacing education funding cut in the last state budget.....

This is like a shell game with Kasich by moving money around, not allowing full disclosure, and taking money from education to deposit in the "rainy day" fund.
Of course, the Kasich administration refuses to address the fact that Ohio's school districts have had to go to voters for more money through school levies. Cutting funding to schools only penalizes taxpayers who must raise local taxes to maintain the quality of education their sons and daughters have.  Kasich may brag that he is cutting taxes, but what are we losing?

InnovationOhio sums up Kasich's latest education scheme funding:

Kasich School Funding Plan: The Basics

1. Additional $1.2 billion for schools over next two years; $1.6 billion cut for schools in past two years.....

     5. Changes to rules relating to student:teacher ratios and length of the school year.
     6. Funding for charter school facilities.

 We'll be waiting for details on how Kasich wants to provide more money to charter schools while sacrificing students in traditional public schools. John Kasich isn't known for being transparent in his moves. In the end, it will be awhile before we'll see the details.  Unfortunately, the Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly will approve anything Kasich proposes.  It will be up to citizens to vote them out.

In the end, students in public schools will get less money for their education while charter school owners get richer, and can contribute more to Republicans.