Candidate for governor, John Kaisch, will be at the Republican Victory Center on Saturday, Oct. 23rd. He is scheduled to arrive around noon. This will probably be his last visit to Greene County before the elections.
The Victory Center is located at 3297 Seajay Dr. Beavercreek OH (Lofino Shopping Center).
Posted in election 2010, events, Governor, Ohio, politics
The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions today released “Dipped in Gold: Upper-Management Police and Fire Retirees become Public-Service Millionaires.” Through the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), public safety officials are eligible to retire on paper, yet continue to work for up to eight years while their pensions (along with three percent cost-of-living allowances and five percent interest payments) accumulate in untouchable accounts. When the officers exit DROP, it is not uncommon for them to collect lump sum payments totaling roughly $1 million dollars. Since they are treated as if they are in year 9 of retirement when they exit DROP, many in upper management also collect yearly pension payments in excess of $100,000 for the rest of their lives.
Since the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) is a highly secretive entity, the report details DROP payouts and pensions for hypothetical Columbus and Cincinnati police officers. Supposing the average DROP participant is a Columbus police officer, taxpayers would save nearly $1.2 billion if the DROP program were eliminated and the retirement age were raised from 48 to 55. The report also suggests several other money-saving options such as terminating cost-of-living allowance increases during DROP, tying the interest payments to market rates, and disallowing participants to keep their required employee contributions to OP&F.
Mary McCleary, Buckeye Institute Policy Analyst, stated: “Making public servants millionaires when they retire is not the bargain you agreed to as a taxpayer. Ohioans bear the seventh highest state and local tax burden due to expensive programs like DROP. Private-sector taxpayers, many of whom have experienced job losses, pay freezes or cuts, and benefit reductions, cannot afford to finance the gold-plated compensation packages of their police officer and firefighter neighbors.”
The report can be viewed on The Wire at www.buckeyeinstitute.org.
Posted in economy, news, Ohio, politics, taxes
Tagged double dipping, fire, milliionaires, pension, police, retirement
Mary McCleary, Policy Analyst
With the start of the new school year, many school districts around Ohio, including Margaretta Local School District, have realized that their finances are in trouble. Thus, these districts (several of which experienced failed levies in the spring primary) are going back on the ballot this November to ask for more money despite the economic hardships already facing many property owners.
To address Ohio’s school funding crisis, Governor Ted Strickland and the General Assembly introduced a new way for school districts to raise money through the establishment of the conversion levy in the 2009 Ohio Budget. Margaretta Local School District is the first district in Ohio to make an attempt at passing this new kind of levy.
If passed, the conversion levy would convert existing school operating levies to a 20-mill floor. Without getting too caught up in terminology, converting to a 20-mill floor essentially removes the protection homeowners have under House Bill 920.
Because of HB 920, property owners only pay taxes on roughly 15 percent of property value increases. For example, if your home is worth $100,000 and increases in value by 10 percent to $110,000, you only pay taxes on $1,500 of the increased value instead of the full $10,000. Conversely, if your home depreciates by 10 percent, your taxes are only reduced by 15 percent of the depreciation.
Thus, HB 920 brings a degree of stability to property taxes: homeowners are not hit with large tax increases when property appreciates, and school districts do not suffer large revenue losses when homes depreciate as they have over the last several years. By design, HB 920 keeps Ohio’s property taxes relatively low.
If the Margaretta conversion levy were to pass, district homeowners would be taxed on 100 percent of property value increases instead of just 15 percent. Given Ohio’s economic condition and the fact the state has the seventh highest state and local tax burden, many homeowners cannot afford higher taxes.
?Another problem with the Margaretta conversion levy is that it is a permanent levy and will consequently cause property taxes to rise indefinitely if passed. Every three years when the county auditor’s office reassesses property values, homeowner taxes could increase significantly. Since the tax hike would not go into effect until after the next reassessment cycle, Margaretta Local School District is selling the levy to voters as type of revenue neutral renewal levy. This approach is, at best, grossly misleading and, at worst, intentionally dishonest.
In addition to skyrocketing taxes, the conversion levy removes the best tool parents have to keep their school districts accountable. When school districts fail to restrain costs, they must ask for more money. The voters then have a chance to examine spending and decide whether or not a funding increase is warranted. If a conversion levy passes, the school district would have little incentive to spend money efficiently and effectively, as revenue would rise every three years beyond the true needs of the school district, and homeowners would have no means to keep the school district accountable for spending choices, as the school district would avoid new levies.
Between 1998 and 2009, per pupil expenditures in Margaretta Schools rose by 75 percent from $5,807 to $10,172 far outpacing inflation, which was only 29 percent. Similarly, the average teacher pay increased 20.1 percent from $45,710 in 2003 to $54,913 in 2010, while inflation was only 18.6 percent. In 2009, the average physical education teacher in the district earned $48 per hour with an annual salary of $64,948. If the average physical education teacher worked the entire year (2,080 hours, instead of the contractual 1,350 hours), he would have earned over $100,000 in 2009.
Although the residents of Margaretta Schools narrowly passed a levy in August, they are notorious for rejecting school levies. When voters reject levies, they fundamentally exercise their right to hold the school district accountable. With a permanent conversion levy in place, voters would lose the ability to reject these property tax hikes.
All Ohioans must be wary of conversion levies. With one vote, taxpayers could unknowingly approve large tax increases for years to come and could lose their most valuable tool in keeping school districts accountable.
For more information, read the Buckeye Institute’s report The Need for Levy Reform in Ohio – Conversion Levy: One Vote, Permanent Tax Increases at www.buckeyeinstitute.org/reports.
Posted in economy, Ohio, politics, schools, taxes
Tagged Buckeye Institute, conversion levy, HB 920, school funding
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% of Adults think the federal government has too much power and money.
Perhaps that’s no surprise since 66% believe America is overtaxed.
An overwhelming 70% of adults say the government does not spend taxpayer’s money wisely and fairly. Just 16% believe the government does spend this money correctly, while another 14% are not sure.
Eighty-five percent (85%) of Republicans and 60% of adults who are not affiliated with either of the major political parties believe the government has too much power and money, a view shared by just 39% of Democrats.
Just 47% of government workers say the government has too much power and money, compared to 65% of those who work in the private sector.
Republicans and unaffiliateds also feel more strongly than Democrats that the government does not spend taxpayers’ money wisely and well.
When it comes to the economy, the message from Americans is clear: Leave it in the hands of the private sector and not the government. That sentiment is shared by sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters who prefer a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes to a more active one that offers more services and higher taxes. A plurality of Americans believe that government programs increase poverty in America.
Source: Rasmussen Reports, October 17, 2010
Posted in economy, news, Ohio, politics, research, taxes
Tagged Democrats, government spending, poll, Republicans
Abortions have reached an all-time low in Ohio, according to a report released by the Ohio Department of Health. The 2009 Report on Induced Abortions in Ohio shows a continued downward trend in the total number of abortions performed. The report shows 28,721 abortions were performed in 2009. This is a three percent decrease over the 2008 number of 29,613. The number of total abortions performed in Ohio has seen a decline annually since 2000 and a decrease of over 40% from the all time high number in the 1980s.
“We are winning the fight against those who push abortion as the first and sometimes only choice for women in crisis,” Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis said. “We continue to witness a trend of Ohioans moving towards a firm respect for life. One of the reasons for the continued decline in abortions has been the enactment of new laws which help young women make positive decisions for themselves and their babies. Whenever you have even the slightest legislative gain that protects women and defends her baby, it will make a difference,” said Gonidakis.
The report detailed demographic information regarding women obtaining abortions. Those statistics include:
“Ohio Right to Life is grateful for the annual decrease in Ohio abortions despite the state’s severe economic crisis,” Gonidakis said. “We will continue to promote life-affirming options including adoption and will work to increase awareness of the more than 130 pro-life pregnancy centers throughout Ohio.”
The 2009 abortion report can be reviewed in its entirety by visiting www.ohiolife.org.
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Ohio Right to Life, the affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, is a statewide, non-profit, non-sectarian educational organization. For more than 40 years, Ohio Right to Life continues to experience success in its mission to promote and protect life due to its dedicated board members, executive staff and affiliated chapters located throughout the state.
Posted in news, Ohio, politics, research
Tagged 2009, abortion, Ohio Department of Health, statistics
Who will control statehouses in 2011 is one of the big questions that voters in 46 states will answer on November 2, when they cast ballots for more than 6,000 legislative seats. Other state chambers that insiders say could flip to Republican control include the Senate in New Hampshire and New York; the House in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania; both chambers in Wisconsin; and the Montana House and Alaska Senate, both currently tied in terms of party control.
The outcome on Election Day will be particularly important because the legislatures will draw new congressional and state district lines in 2011. If one party or the other controls that process, members can draw maps that help their electoral chances — both at the state level and in the U.S. House of Representatives — for the next decade.
That’s why both parties are paying close attention to races such as one in the Cincinnati suburbs, where Democrats hope state Representative Connie Pillich can hold off a strong challenge from Republican Mike Wilson. Republicans need to gain only four seats to take control of the Ohio House. If Republicans hold their majority in the state Senate — and if Republican John Kasich defeats incumbent Governor Ted Strickland — the GOP could “carve the districts the way they like them,” says James Broussard, professor of history at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania.
These districts are among 55 that the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has deemed “essential.” The group has committed to spending $20 million on races that will have the greatest impact on redistricting.
Republicans are pouring money into key statehouse races, as well. The Republican State Leadership Committee is running a $20 million initiative called REDMAP — it stands for Redistricting Majority Project. “To control the process — or at least have a seat at the table — winning, defending and increasing state legislative majorities must be a priority,” its Web site says.
Another factor that will weigh on the outcome is term limits. As Stateline has reported, term limits are forcing at least 380 state lawmakers to retire this year.
Source: Stateline October 15, 2010.
The Dayton Tea Party Remember November Rally was a huge success. Over 3,000 were in attendance at Courthouse Square in downtown Dayton, according to Dayton police estimates. The Dayton Foodbank also reported Tea Partiers donated about 1,800 gross pounds of food items that will be distributed throughout area food banks. The American black conservative talk show host from Georgia, Herman Cain, was extremely impressed with the crowd size and how friendly Dayton Tea partiers were.
By Rep. Steve Austria
As a nation, we have asked more of our men and women serving in our National Guard with longer deployments and more missions. As a Member of the Homeland Security Committee, I have attended many deployment ceremonies and traveled to Afghanistan to visit our soldiers.
In addition to playing a vital role in protecting our nation, the Springfield Air National Guard Base and Rickenbacher Air and Army National Guard Base missions help support and strengthen our local economy. We now have an opportunity to expand the Ohio National Guard’s role in Springfield and Ohio with the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and in Fairborn with Calamityville, a homeland security response team.
Given the integral role the National Guard plays both home and abroad, it is critical it receives adequate funding. Currently, Guard and Reserve operational functions are financed through the “Overseas Contingency Operations” budget, a supplemental account that also funds the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, as these missions continue to wind down, this account will inevitably become obsolete.
Replacing the current account with a more certain, dedicated stream of funding must be a priority. The National Guard will continue to be critical in protecting our nation as it expands its role from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the current and future homeland security challenges we face. Thus, it is imperative that the National Guard have the necessary funding to successfully complete their missions and return home safely.
| What: | Dayton Tea Party’s “Remember November Rally” |
| Where: | Courthouse Square in downtown Dayton |
| When: | Thursday, Oct. 14. from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Cost: | Boxed or canned food item that will be donated to the Dayton Foodbank. |
| Keynote Speaker: | Conservative radio talk show host Herman Cain. |
| Master of Ceremonies: | Greg McAfee, owner of McAfee Heating & Air |
| Speakers: | Mike Gearhardt, co-author of “The Financial Tsunami” |
| Weather: | 64 degrees, partly cloudy predicted |
| Apparel: | Dayton Tea Party will have Tea Party shirts, videos, and “The Financial Tsunami” book at the Rally. |
Posted in events, Ohio, politics
Tagged Dayton Food Bank, Dayton Tea Party, Greg McAfee, Herman Cain, Mike Gearhardt, The Financial Tsunami
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Ohio shows Republican John Kasich barely ahead of incumbent Democratic Governor Ted Strickland 48% to 45%. Last month, Kaisch was running ahead of Strickland by 8 points, but, as you can see, Kaisch now leds by only 3 points.
I think Kaisch’s gruff appearance at the last televised debate negatively impacted voter perception. The opposite is was the case for Republican Robert Portman. His speech was as calm and professional as Obama, but not a polished and academic. His criticism of and retorts to Democrat Lee Fisher were effective, while Fisher’s sometimes seemed to stretch the “truth” about Portman a little too far. This has contributed to Portman’s 23 point lead over Fisher for the U.S. Senate race.
Source: Rasmussen Reports, October 13, 2010
Posted in election 2010, news, Ohio, politics
Tagged Democrats, John Kaisch, Lee Fisher, Republicans, Rob Portman, Ted strickland
