Category Archives: Ohio

Ohio Leads Nation Using Stimulus Funds For Water And Sewer Projects

As reported by the Dayton Daily News, Ohio leads the nation with 274 sewer projects being funded by stimulus dollars. Ohio also ranked third with 62 drinking water projects.

“All told, 700 jobs are being created or retained with the work, officials said. A little more than $279 million in stimulus funds are matched with $196.1 million of low-interest loan money for the projects.”

The inference here is that it takes a little over $678,000 to keep 700 water works and construction workers employed. The report did mention for how long.

At one point, City of Xenia officials thought they might be able to get stimulus funds to repair a retaining wall at Shawnee Park. I’m sure that would also retain a few workers as well.

I must confess the recent repair of the big hole in front of the sewer on my block was appreciated. If it were not for the multi-billion dollar tax bill at the stimulus gold rush I would hope it was paid for by Obama and Company. It’s that bankrupting stimulus repayment that is too frightening to garnish any confidence in a genuine financial recovery.

Advocates for Liberty and Xenia Liberty Group Event, Xenia Library, Thursday Feb. 25 @ 6pm

The very first meeting of the Advocates for Liberty and Xenia Liberty Group (a chapter of the Dayton Tea Party) will take place on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 6:00 PM at the Xenia Library in the upstairs meeting room.

I want to encourage everyone to attend, connect and become involved with our community at a grassroots level. The Tea Party liberty groups are non-partisan groups; we don’t endorse or sponsor particular candidates nor do we carry water for the Republican Party. We simply want to promote the Constitutional principles of freedom and liberty for all, something which seemingly both parties are failing to understand.

The Feb. 25 meeting agenda includes:

– Rob Scott, founder of Dayton Tea Party, who will discuss the Tea Party movement and goals.

– Ron Alban, will discuss and take signatures for his effort to abolish the Ohio Estate Tax; we also need help with signature petitions in Greene County and this is your opportunity to help abolish this obscene tax in our state.

– Virgil Vaduva will be discussing the proposed 35% increase in Xenia city income tax; there will be a measure on the May 4 ballot and we need your help to defeat this proposal and keep our private property away from the reaching hands of government bureaucrats.

Being our first meeting, we are also looking for leaders and people willing to become involved and be part of our board. If you want to participate, feel free to contact us at any time (info@advocatesforliberty.com).

For more information you can go to http://www.advocatesforliberty.com

Ohio Revenue Commissioner Slams Tax Foundation for Criticizing State’s Gross Receipts Tax

By Joseph Henchman

Ohio Revenue Commissioner Richard A. Levin slams the Tax Foundation for criticizing the terrible Commercial Activities Tax (CAT), a gross receipts tax that Levin himself helped usher in. Economists of all stripes agree that gross receipts taxes, while deceptively simple and low, actually introduce severe economic distortions and result in significantly different effective tax rates on similar or even identical products.

But Levin also says the Tax Foundation is wrong to criticize Ohio for its franchise and intangibles taxes, both of which he says don’t exist. (He even equates them to unicorns and pixie dust). The franchise tax (with a rate of 4 mills, distinct from the corporate income tax) has indeed been repealed, but only very recently (January 2010). Our State Business Tax Climate Index, which comes out each fall, will reflect this repeal in our 2011 report.

As for the intangibles tax, it is alive and well. Levin should know, as he was the named defendant in a case involving the tax that went all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2008, UBS Financial Services v. Levin. For a tax that Levin says was repealed in 1985, it seems to still be imposing significant costs on companies doing business in intangibles. I hope Levin lets UBS know that they don’t need to pay that tax after all.

What really matters, though, is that state officials have long engaged in a propaganda effort to claim that Ohio’s tax system is low and attractive despite significant evidence to the contrary. (Levin notes that he “sense[s] genuine excitement…about our new state tax system.”) In reality, Ohio taxpayers are burdened with the 7th highest state-local tax burden in the United States. Our review of state tax structures finds theirs to be the 47th least business-friendly in the United States. Few impartial experts think that Ohio will see much in the way of job growth or capital formation without serious reform.

And it needs to be reform that leads to lower tax burdens and less economic distortions, not the “reforms” of the CAT that go in the opposite direction.

Joseph Henchman is Tax Counsel and Director of State Projects of The Tax Foundation

Model Arab League at Miami U February 26…Education or Proselytizing?

Like the mock session of the Supreme Court, Congress, United Nations in which high school and college participate and compete, Model Arab League (MAL) gives youth a way to develop greater understanding of Middle East cultural, political, social, economic, and religious issues and processes of governance.

Some criticize the program as being a Saudi Arabian tool used to indoctrinate Americans into a one-sided view of Middle East conflicts, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One of those critics is the Campus Watch, which has reported anti-Semitism among promoters of MAL.

If this program were under some other rubric for in-depth learning about Middle East culture and politics, this blogger would have little reason for skepticism about its underlying purpose. Along with the reported anti-Semitic bias, Saudi Arabian and other Middle Eastern leaders have discredited the Arab League of Nations as an organization of little influence and importance to the Middle East problems. If that were true, why then are they funding MAL? Why are they funding Middle Eastern academics at American Universities? Why are they funds mosques, businesses, and parochial schools as well?

One of the goals of Islam is the religious conversion of the world. The Arab League was and has always been an Islamic mirror of the United Nations (originally, League of Nations). Whereas the U.N. is secular and humanistic, the Arab League is Islamic with regard to both its legal and its ideological views. Consequently, the MAL should be view as more than a merely a unique educational learning method. As with the Model UN programs, it is also a means of indoctrinating people into a peaceful acceptance of the views, policies, and practices of the actual MAL, which is acceptance of the views of Islam and Shari’a governance.

One of the underlying tenets of both Islam and the Arab League is the elimination of infidels in general and the one national entity that represents a division to a united Arab Middle East; that entity is called Zion or the Jewish nation of Israel.

The issue is not the hypocrisy of western powers because the UK and US have broken promises to both the Arabs and the Israelis. The Israeli-Palestinian issue is one of ultimate control of all territories of the Middle East. Arabs do not necessarily intend to annihilate the Jews in the Middle East; they do however intend to rule over them if only as a subordinate state of the Arab League.

As in many European states, Ohio is among those being prepared for the universal glory of Islam: making all peoples submissive to Islam. One must admit that MAL is an ingenious way of evangelizing and proselytizing.

Welcome to the intended new world order.

T-Day Coming Soon (that is tax return deadline)

The dreaded tax day soon approaches. Do you have your records in order? Have you received your W-2s, 1099s, and other related reports your smiling IRS agent will looking for when you are audited?

Have you received a 1040 booklet and forms or your 2009 tax preparation software? Of course, you may still be waiting on an appointment date from your accountant.

April 15th cometh soon. The day of gloom and IRS doom. For some it might even be a day portending a bright glimmer of anticipation for a large refund. Whatever the case, the taxman cometh soon.

America is particularly blesses to have a paternal sugar daddy on Capitol Hill who promises at least a small refund of our collective taxes that were forced from our paychecks at the point of the big guns of Congress’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Think of the IRS as comparable to the Secret Service i.e., CIA, FBI, etc.

There are some unfortunate saps who Mr. Sugar Daddy doesn’t like. They include those who earn more than $250,000. If you are among that group, Mr. Sugar Daddy intends to keep all of your taxes money that your lawyers and accountants can’t find loopholes in which to hide it. (Hint: His associates in the Big Parlor on the Hill included.)

That reminds me: How can Mr. Sugar Daddy and his officious associates pontificate from the very place where Thomas Jefferson attended service every week in honor of God, truth, morality, and justice while dishonoring our nation’s Provident God, deceiving the public with every other unread bill, legislating immorality, and robbing the poor and not-so-poor.

Anyway, you are fortunate if you live in Xenia. Even though 60+ percent of local taxes go to education (which some say is less than adequate), the tax rate is relatively lower than most neighboring communities. At least that is what some elected official say. After May, that status may change. Nevertheless, Xenia is still known as a community with a low tax rate and low housing costs. Those are among the reasons Xenia was known place to get a start in life.

You are also fortunate to live in Xenia because the city offers tax preparation and paying information and tools to assist citizens pay the right amount on time. I can assure you, the city is dedicated to helping you to contribute to the city tax funded services. If paying on time is not possible, the City offers an extension.

You can find the City’s helpful information and tools at City of Xenia Income Tax Division webpage.

I almost forgot. As the City’s webpage reminds us, your Xenia Community School income tax filings and payments are made directly to the State of Ohio, not locally. The reason behind it is two-fold: (1) In a semi-socialist state, dollars flow to the central government and is disbursed in accordance with state dictates, which sheds some light on what slice of the equality pie education serves the semi-socialist state. (2) Dollars flow to power, and public education serves to indoctrinate the people according to the dictates of the State; in this case egalitarian socialism or statism as some call it. That also is why separation of religion and state (or church and state as it is also called) is so important a dogma.

The Ohio School Income Tax webpage is http://tax.ohio.gov and the Federal income tax forms, instructions, and payment methods are at http://www.irs.gov.

House Speaker Budish Reverses Decision About Teen Recognition

Facing mounting criticism over his ill-considered decision to prohibit
pro-life Shelby County teen Elisabeth Trisler from receiving a routine legislative honor, House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beechwood) today did an about face. Trisler was scheduled to receive a resolution from her state representative, John Adams (R-Sidney), honoring her accomplishment as the National Right to Life Oratory Contest winner. However, Budish blocked the award presentation. He argued that honoring the teen was too controversial. Budish supports abortion.

In a news release Monday, Ohio Right to Life first brought attention to the issue. Executive Director Mike Gonidakis asked Budish to reconsider his decision. He was joined by several pro-life members of the General Assembly led by Rep. Adams.

“Speaker Budish recently called me to convey his change of heart and I thanked him on behalf of the pro-life community,” said Gonidakis. “Blocking speech because you don’t like what someone is saying or what they stand for goes against the very fabric of who we are as Americans. And, while the speaker got there the hard way,
at least he got there.”

Source: Ohio Right To Life, February 10, 2010

Ohio House Speaker Dishonors Teen: Unending Leftist Bigotry

In an unprecedented act of partisanship, House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beechwood) denied Shelby County teen Elisabeth Trisler a legislative honor routinely presented to others. Budish is refusing to allow Trisler on the House floor to accept a legislative resolution. The resolution, authored by Rep. John Adams (R-Sidney), honors her accomplishment as the National Right to Life Oratory Contest winner. Such honorary resolutions are routinely presented at the start of Ohio House legislative sessions to constituents, including those who win athletic championships or academic contests.

“Surely Speaker Budish can put aside his partisanship for 10 minutes to honor the accomplishments of talented and optimistic teenage girl,” said Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis. “Perhaps his real message to Ohio’s teens is that excelling in public speaking isn’t worth being honored if their views are different than his.”
Trisler won the National Right to Life Oratory Contest held at the NRLC Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina in June, 2009. During the second half of 2009, Rep. Adams’s office worked to schedule the presentation of Trisler’s proclamation on the House floor, as is typical of such awards. The presentation was scheduled for Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

However, on January 29th, the House Clerk informed Rep. Adams’s office the presentation was canceled because the Speaker “had a problem with the subject matter.” The Clerk advised the representative’s staff to take the matter up with the Speaker. Speaker Budish supports abortion.

“The Ohio House chamber is a monument to the importance of oratory and persuasion on the great issues facing our state,” added Gonidakis. “Silencing someone because you disagree is a terrible lesson to teach teens. The Speaker should reconsider his unfortunately petty decision.”

“The Ohio House of Representatives is known as the ‘people’s house’,” said State Representative John Adams. “It is an outrage that Speaker Budish has decided to politicize and deny the presentation of a proclamation honoring national pro-life award on the House floor that was previously approved by the Speaker,” Adams said.

Source: Ohio Right to Life, February 8, 2010

Schools targeted as political pawns throughout 2009

One year to the day that House Democrats took the majority, State Representatives Jarrod Martin (R-Beavercreek), Seth Morgan, CPA, (R- Huber Heights), and Gerald Stebelton (R-Lancaster) summarized the 2009 legislative year as a time of unfunded mandates on schools and damaging funding cuts to poorer districts, charter schools, e-schools and Catholic schools. Additionally, rather than streamlining state spending to ensure adequate funding for education, Governor Strickland chose to fund K-12 education with unstable revenue from video lottery terminals, an unconstitutional plan that eventually failed and put Ohio’s education system at risk.

“Throughout this economic turmoil, lawmakers Republican or Democrat need to remain committed to ensuring a bright future for Ohio’s students,” said Martin. “The political pandering and aggressive tone that threatened devastating cuts to education was a clear demonstration of partisanship by Governor Strickland and House Democrats who carelessly placed the reductions on education before examining other bloated areas of the Executive branch or legislature.”

House Democrats managed to cut state education funding by nearly $400 million over the next two years, the first time since the DeRolph case of 1997 that the Legislature recommended education funding cuts. They also imposed costly mandates on schools by requiring the implementation of all-day kindergarten starting in the 2010-2011 school year, which many districts have said they could not afford in this economy.

“Recognizing that education is central to Ohio’s long-term success,” said Morgan. “House Republicans proposed numerous ideas to increase Ohio’s chances of receiving federal funding through the Race to the Top program, preserve school choice, and alleviate oppressive mandates on districts. They also introduced a number of amendments to the budget to improve the governor’s evidence-based model.”

The Ohio Department of Development has estimated that establishing all-day kindergarten in Ohio’s 613 school districts will cost more than $200 million, including $127 million in operating costs and $78 million for classroom space. House Republicans avow that enforcing this mandate on already-struggling schools will force many to cut programs or extracurricular activities to be able to afford the mandate.

“I will continue to fight to save the taxpayers of Ohio money, and to cut wasteful government spending, while protecting our most valuable asset, the future of Ohio-our children’s education,” said Stebelton. “I was disheartened by the inept leadership in Columbus to threaten our schools and even libraries while budget discussions were still going on.”

However, House Democrats have silenced many Republican initiatives since the beginning of the General Assembly. Although the Ohio House has been plagued by stalemates and inaction in 2009, House Republicans remain hopeful that 2010 will bring bipartisan discussions about Ohio’s future and how to responsibly bring our education system into the 21st century economy.

Martin Pushes To Save Taxpayers’ Money

Representative Martin recently gave sponsor testimony to members of the House State Government Committee on House Bill 302, which when enacted would stop contractors from purchasing and erecting signs at project sites paid for by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“Since October, I have urged hearings on this bill in committee and I am pleased that I was finally able to provide sponsor testimony,” Martin said. “With the taxpayers already overburdened by government spending, House Bill 302 is long overdue. The ARRA signs are little more than political propaganda and are a waste of tax dollars. The taxpayers in Ohio and across the country should not be required to fund these signs, especially during this time of economic difficulty.”

The signs cost approximately $1300 each to produce and erect. They are paid for by stimulus dollars and are written into the winning contract, officials say. The total price tag to the State of Ohio could add up to $1 million for the signs reading “Project Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” The Federal Highway Administration did not require the posting of these signs but only recommended it. It was the Ohio Department of Transportation that required them to be posted at projects paid for by stimulus dollars.

“I encourage swift action by the House on this legislation,” Martin said. “Considering Ohio’s budget shortfall and the significant cuts our schools and the elderly have suffered, requiring tax dollars to go towards this propaganda is disgraceful. The people of Ohio are tired of government squandering, and it is time that legislators, both in Columbus and Washington, start listening to the people they were elected to serve.”

Ohio Population Aging, Number of Children Under 18 Declines

New statistics from the US Census Bureau reveals an aging population. Since the 2000 Census, Ohio’s 18-64 year old population grew 3 percent from 6.97 million to 7.18 million. The number of 65 and over group increased by 4 percent from 1.51 million to 1.57 million.

The inverse is true of Ohio’s children. The number of children under 18 declined 5 percent. Children 5 years of age and under saw the least decline, only 1 percent (753,669 to 743,750). Ohio’s teen population also declined by nearly 1 percent (655,411 to 646,135). The largest decline was seen among Ohio’s 5-13 year old group, which was 9 percent. The number children ages 5-13 declined from 1,476,529 to 1,340,492.

The question is whether Ohio politicians and business leaders will find creative solutions for this group of future workers and taxpayers to both funding the elderly retirement and health needs, or will they simply greater debt burden that will rob them of a decent lifestyle. If so, the increasing debt burden will likely produce a citizenry oppositional to those aged leaders and their irresponsible generation.