State of the State: A Response Governor Kasich delivered his State of the State message in Medina, and I applaud him for escaping the marble halls of Columbus to give us his view of Ohio’s present circumstances. While I agree that Ohio is a great place to live and work, I believe, as I suspect you do as well, that Ohio can and should be doing much better. Paraphrasing, Mr. Kasich stated that the government works for the people, not the other way around. Well, John, we have to question the sincerity of that statement because your “end run” with Medicaid expansion violated the wishes of 66 per cent of Ohioans who rejected any form of Obamacare (aka: ACA) implementation in Ohio. Try walking the walk. Many indices of U. S. economic activity have been published in recent weeks, and disturbingly, they suggest that Ohio is either performing in the middle of the 50-state pack or near the bottom. We are Ohio, and this is unacceptable. We have 11.5 million resourceful and creative citizens in our state, and we should be THE leading star of economic growth and prosperity in this nation. There are a couple of reasons for our lagging performances that I believe are vitally important. One: Ohio should be a leader in our country, but sadly too many of our political leaders have chosen to be followers. We all know that the federal debt, national budget and federal regulatory environment are out of control and counter-productive for Ohio’s prosperity. Yet...our elected representatives choose to play along with an over-reaching and ineffective federal monster rather than resist its unconstitutional and anti-individual liberty measures that restrict our freedom to grow and prosper. Ohio’s representatives and our state constitutional officers were elected to serve the citizens of our state.....not to enable and advance a huge expansion of the federal government. Two: Related to my previous point is the unwillingness of Ohio’s government to reject unwise interference from federal bureaucracies. They intervene in our individual lives, our businesses, our property and our choices. Yet, we hear very little from our state officials as the federal government abuses our liberties time after time. State officials have a constitutional obligation to interpose the power of the state between an overly aggressive federal government and the citizens of Ohio. Our state, as represented by our elected officers, has a duty to protect us from Big Brother so that we may achieve our full potential as Buckeyes...so that we can work, prosper and lead the nation out of its economic doldrums. Ohio’s officials should shield us from federal over-reaching....not bend over and watch us suffer. It is time to be BOLD. Three: While it is important that the state create an environment that encourages new businesses, expansions and opportunities, the best method for achieving that is too minimize regulations and red tape AND dent federal interference. Creating an agency that is unaccountable, unable to be audited and chooses winners and losers as “Jobs Ohio” does is a big-government, crony-oriented response to a situation that requires more freedom and openness. Our goal should be to limit the footprint of government in private development....not make it a major player while hiding behind a veil of secrecy. Four: The Governor’s end run through the Controlling Board to expand the Medicaid portion of Obamacare is illustrative of the failure of leadership in Ohio’s government. Anyone with a scintilla of good sense knows that the costs for Ohioans will grow astronomically in a few years. Although the expansion decision was claimed to be motivated by compassion, it was wholly political. You see, my fellow Ohioans, the bill will come due AFTER the Governor and many other political people have left office. The Governor gets “the good-guy award,” and we get to hold the bag when it crashes. Mr. Kasich proposed a number of new initiatives and promised to deliver more to the General assembly in the coming months. Given his love affair with big government involvement for every aspect of our lives, November 4th cannot arrive quickly enough. Using the strong arm of government to force people to follow one man’s vision is not compassionate; it is a career politician’s greatest enterprise: legacy building. The old politician gets the legacy and the monument, and later generations get the bill. Our Bold Ohio campaign is developing some positive initiatives for opening up our energy resources in Ohio. We plan to work with the legislature to restructure our tax system in the state so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive. We are working on a plan to recapture and repurpose the rusty abandoned industrial sites throughout our state. We want to open markets, crops and opportunities for our proficient agricultural sector. But....all those initiatives are as meaningless as lips on a chicken....if we do not stop the federal government from unnecessarily interfering in our lives and our business. That’s the first order that Lieutenant Governor Clark and I will set out to achieve. We believe a Bold Ohio can lead the nation, and we believe in you.....the bold Ohioans. Yes...there is a rosy scenario for Ohio...if...the state government does its job to thwart Big Federal Government and.....stays out of the way while Ohioans get back to work. Tagging along with bloated federal programs while adding numerous statewide schemes is not the formula for long-term success......or for individual liberty. Mr. Kasich spoke often of his administration’s efforts to unravel red tape for Ohioans. Let’s stop adding initiatives and bureaucracies because each of them arrives with its very-own huge tape dispenser. He talked glowingly of his tax cutting, and while I applaud the elimination of the death tax, raising taxes on our energy developers in Ohio merely shifts the burden from the income tax to the gas pump and the electric meter. Finally, hard-working Ohioans have been taxed to provide a better fiscal structure for Ohio during Mr. Kasich’s term, but he has failed to keep faith with them by increasing state spending by more than 20 per cent for his first three years. Yes, Ohio will do better when Ohioans are doing better. A Bold Ohio will turn loose the potential of our friends, neighbors and families without siphoning their sweat to enlarge big government. Charlie Earl Libertarian candidate for Governor of Ohio
Posted on: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 02:29:54 +0000
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