Category Archives: taxes

Health Care Reform Consensus: It Will Harm Millions of Small Businesses

Posted on January 20, 2010 by | 1 comment

By Daniel Downs

Small business employs more people than large corporate establishments. By comparison, small businesses employ 50.2 percent of all American workers, while large corporations employ only 49.8 percent. Depending on the statistical source used, the number of Americans employed by small businesses is between 60 to 69 million. Self employed entrepreneurs make up between 32 to 38 percent of small businesses.

Small businesses also lead the nation in creating new jobs. According to Small Business Trends, two-thirds of all new jobs are created by small business. http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/11/who-creates-the-most-jobs.html

So why do Congressional Democrats favor the interests of big business? Why does their health care reform legislation give them large deductions for self-insured health care? One answer might be elite the liberal Congressional millionaires maybe attempting to protect their investments self-insuring corporations. Another possibility maybe that big corporations have better lobbyists, but who cares?

The largest and best employers in America are overwhelmingly opposed to Congress’ health care reform legislation. They oppose it not only because it gives unfair breaks only to large corporations but also because it will raise the cost of doing business, and threatens the ability of small firms to grow their business and create new jobs.

One aspect of the legislation specifically targets the construction industry, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. “The bill singles out the construction industry by not exempting businesses in this sector from the “play-or-pay” employer mandate that other firms with 50 or fewer employees are exempt from.” Interestingly, the government defines small business as firms with 500 or less employees. Consequently, many other small businesses will be adversely affected by the unfunded mandates.

About one-third of the 22 million self-employed cannot even afford health insurance. Those who do purchase health coverage have experienced double-digit premium increases every year, making it difficult to retain insurance, according to the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). Because the Senate tabled an amendment that would have given a 50 percent deduction to small businesses, the cost of adequate health care will continue rise if the Democrats health care bill passes.

As outlined by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Congress’ health care reform will significantly increase the cost of health care to small businesses in the following ways:

The legislation includes a new $60 billion tax that falls almost exclusively on small business because the fee (tax) is assessed on insurance companies, which is confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office. This cost will be passed on to small business in the form of higher premiums, at least 10 percent higher. The cost of health care insurance is already 18 percent higher for small businesses than for large corporations. And, as previously stated, the new legislation exempts self-insuring large corporations from the additional costs.

Because employer mandates assess multiple penalties based on the income of full-time employees, there will be job loss, greater reliance on part-time employees, and harm to entry-level and low-wage workers.

The new reporting requirements increases administrative costs by $17 billion.

Small business with high rates of employee turnover may be put out of business because of a $600 fine for not providing all employees health insurance within 60 days.

Congress’ health care reform also limits previous cost saving options like tax-exempt Health Savings Accounts.

According to Small Business Coalition for Affordable Healthcare, a government-run health care plan cannot compete fairly with the private market and threatens to destroy the marketplace, further limiting choices.

http://www.smallbusinesshealthcarecoalition.com/Portals/2/KeyVote-Senate-%20H.R.%203590%20-%2012-2.pdf

One thing is certain; the health care reform of congressional Democrats will be neither affordable nor free-market friendly. Those are a few reasons why small businesses should petition their representatives. Small business owners can also sign the SBECs “Not On Our Backs” Small Business Health Care “Not On Our BacksPetition to voice their opposition to the proposed national health care legislation.

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New Year Resolutions For Local Officials

Posted on January 19, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Making resolutions is a tradition of the New Year’s holiday. Most organizations establish plan objectives in order to reach their goals. One example of an organizational objective is to reach a specified number of potential customers, clients, or audiences. Another might be to recruit a certain number of new members, clients, new readers, or new businesses. Still another objective might be to increase revenue by a targeted amount whether in the form of sales, membership dues, or taxes.

In the spirit of setting corporate goals, I propose two New Year resolutions that would improve the service of public officials to those who pay them their salaries and that might increase public respect of the same.

Resolution one. Treat Xenia taxpayers like stakeholders and investors. To accomplish this goal, the City will create and distribute to every taxpayer a corporate-like annual report that includes goals, accomplishments, new issues, and simplified financial statements.

Government exists to serve specific needs of the citizens who created it. Services needed by local citizens include police and judicial protection of property and person, facilitation of economic prosperity, education, sanitation, and the like. Like investors in for-profit business, taxpayers invest their hard-earned money into government. Taxpayers have a right to expect a return on their investment (ROI). It could even be said that they are obligated to demand measurable results. To achieve this reasonable demand, city officials could create and distribute an annual report as stated above. An annual report would provide taxpaying investors both with measured and comprehensive results of service achievement and with financial accountability by means of simplified financial statements.

Some people will like react negatively to this resolution because they believe the cost are not justified, That is, they believe the money would be better spent on paving streets, repairing equipment, or some other necessary expenditure. It must be admitted they are mostly right.

The city spends tens of thousands of dollars for each levy campaign to increase taxes. Yet, most local taxpayers have no real clue why the money is needed, whether the need is legitimate, how tax revenue is in a reserve fund, or whether some of that reserve could be used for a proposed levy. It is for these and similar reasons that an annual report widely distributed would provide all taxpayers will the necessary information to overcome such ignorance. In short, such an annual report would go along way in making Xenia taxpayer informed citizens–one of the more important requirements for good decision-making in a participatory democracy.

Resolution two. Honesty and transparency is the only public policy worthy of the public trust. Therefore, honesty and transparency in all public issues, ordinances, levies, and all other public matters will always be practiced. If it is found to be otherwise, any legal matter involved will be deemed null and void.

Not only are taxpayers not treated as investing stakeholders in their public institutions, but they are treated like consumers and dupes. The underlying view of citizens and taxpayers by officials is the old sales adage: “A sucker is born every day.” The mentality is if you are stupid enough to buy the lies and half-truths, you deserve what you get. What school officials gave South Hill residents and taxpayers in general was a royal snow job. Officials said that a soil study was conducted showing that the school was atop a high water table, which was the cause of a flooding problem in the basement of Spring Hill elementary school. Because of this, Spring Hill could not be rebuilt.

However, the official geological study also states that all of Xenia is on just as high a water table. In fact, the land Tecumseh is built on is even more prone to flooding than at the Spring Hill site. The fact is officials have no good reason not to rebuild Spring Hill on the same site. Certainly, Spring Hill has no greater land limitations than at Shawnee Elementary.

Any votes for public money schemes based on such misleading information should nullify those votes in favor of it.

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Ohio Population Aging, Number of Children Under 18 Declines

Posted on January 11, 2010 by | Leave a comment

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.

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Ohio government is too big to pay for its employees pensions, taxpayers should pay for no more

Posted on January 6, 2010 by | Leave a comment

By Daniel Downs

Ohio public employee pension fund are suffering the same fate as their employers revenue streams. They are dwindling. Partly to blame is our spend-thrifty government; the other part is the financial industry that was willing to follow the lead of their liberal politicians.

According to an excellent report by the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio public pensions cost taxpayers $4.1 billion annually. Those costs are directly related to the size of government payrolls, which continue to grow. As noted, government employees get higher than average retirement incomes. These are guaranteed by law.

Because 401K and other sources of pension funds are subject to stock market volatility, the Ohio budget is now revealing another part of its budget shortfall.

To make up for the loss, Ohio public employee union-negotiated pension funds are asking taxpayers to foot the bill.

What is wrong with this picture?

As noted at the beginning, the growth of government bureaucracy outpaces the private sector. Socialistic and special interest programs along with related federal mandates drive much unnecessary growth and its costs to taxpayers. The answer is in cutting them. Ohio government should follow their private sector partner and downsize. Cut departments, programs, employees, and cut related expenses. By downsizing, the executive branch the savings would cover most, if not all, of the current budget deficit, which means covering pensions too.

And, what about all of Ohio’s private sector employee who are suffering either declines or loss of their retirement pensions? If taxpayers should maintain retired employee pension because they pour billions of dollars into Ohio’s economy as argued Democrat Rep. Todd Book and the unions, retired private sector employees pour in many more billions. It would be more profitable for the economy if taxpayers funded their retirement funds.

Then, there is the frequent practice of allowing double dippers to burden Ohio taxpayers. As with Xenia Community Schools Supt. Lewis, many government employees receive pension income as well as taxpayer funded paychecks. Why should taxpayers pay double for such employees, and pay double or triple amounts for bailouts, and pay double for levy debts to schools and to investors? Public corruption obviously is very profitable.

Ohio government is just too big and corrupt to pay for its employees’ pensions. That is why taxpayers should refuse to pay more.

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Revolving door undermines public trust in government

Posted on January 4, 2010 by | Leave a comment

By John Mitchel

RE: Local contractors under scrutiny for using paid military “mentors”, Dayton Daily News, December 30, 2009: Many consider Gen. Bill Creech as “father of the modern Air Force.”

During his distinguished career and before he died in 2003, Gen. Creech practiced and preached the notion that the most important responsibility of a leader is to train new leaders. “Mentoring” was on Gen. Creech’s short list of important tasks required to prepare Air Force leaders for the future. However, simultaneous receipt of $1600 a day mentoring fees plus a six-figure military pension plus hundreds of thousands in consulting fees from defense contractors doesn’t seem to fit Gen. Creech’s noble intentions of preparing Air Force leaders for challenges they may face in the future. Besides, each senior officer participating in the Air Force mentoring program has more than 30 years experience on active duty. That should be sufficient time to positively instill the core values of duty, honor, country in subordinates of all ranks, and especially the senior troops who more senior officers deal with on a daily basis.

“Mentors for hire” may seem abusive to some, but it pales in comparison to the ease and speed in which elected officials and their staff members pass through the “revolving door.” Take for example Congressman Dave Hobson, who retired a multi-millionaire after nearly 30 years of public service, then took a job as a lobbyist for Vorys Advisors, a subsidiary of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLC, a Columbus law firm. And let’s not forget Congressman Steve Austria’s wife Eileen, who moved from Congressman Dave Hobson’s District Director to Director of Sales and Marketing with Nextedge Development Corporation, a non-profit, tax exempt company 60-70 percent financed by tax dollars including federal earmarks requested by Dave Hobson and Third Frontier and other state funding sponsored by Steve Austria when he was in the Ohio General Assembly. It’s no wonder approval ratings for Congress are at all-time lows.

If the revolving door between government and the private sector should exist at all, it should be with two conditions; full and open disclosure, and a reasonable cooling off period, especially at the most senior levels. Instead, the usual suspects prefer to conceal their self-dealing with faceless private corporations, and more often than not, through non-profit, tax exempt entities financed mostly with taxpayer dollars. Term limits, self imposed or otherwise, would be a step in the right direction to mitigate the revolving door issue for federal elected officials. That would motivate our congressional leaders to act as citizen legislators who serve for a time, and then return to their home districts to enjoy the liberty and freedom they helped protect as representatives of the people. The longer we allow the self-dealing career politician mindset to prevail in Washington and Columbus, the closer we will come to America falling into the abyss.

John Mitchel was a candidate for Ohio governor in 1998 and ran for U.S. House of Representatives in the 7th Congressional District in 2008. In 2006 he wrote and self-published America at the Abyss: A View from the Heartland.

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Americans Against Congress’ Deficit Increasing Health Care Reform

Posted on December 30, 2009 by | Leave a comment

In a December 22 Quinnipiac University poll, most Americans (53-36 percent) opposed the House and Senate Health Care Reform plans.

As usual, partisan politics is evident. Independent voters “mostly disapprove” 58 – 30 percent, as do Republicans 83 – 10 percent. Democrats “mostly approve” 64 – 22 percent.

Although most Americans (56-38 percent) support giving individuals the option of coverage by a government plan, they strongly oppose 72-24 percent using any public money in the health care overhaul to pay for abortions.

Americans are not happy with Pres. Obama’s performance concerning health care reform. Quinnipiac researchers found that 56-38 percent disapproved. They not only are Americans dissatisfied with Obama’s role in pushing for more universal health care, but a strong majority do not believe he will be able to keep his promise to overhaul it without increasing the federal deficit.

Slightly more Americans 56-36 percent do not want health care reform if it will increase the national debt.

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Strickland Shouldn’t Count on Federal Bailout

Posted on December 29, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Marc Kilmer

Governor Strickland and the General Assembly last week agreed on a tax hike to close this fiscal year’s budget deficit. When they return in January, though, they will have to deal with a projected deficit of roughly $5 billion for next fiscal year. The governor is hoping the federal government will send some money Ohio’s way to make this deficit disappear. While a federal bailout is unlikely, even if it happens Ohio’s budget problems won’t go away.

The seemingly endless debate in the General Assembly this year over closing the deficit clearly illustrates that Ohio has budget problems. The spending obligations made by politicians can’t be funded with the money being paid by state taxpayers. Politicians of both parties were unwilling to cut state spending to close the gap. Instead, they supported a federal “stimulus” bill that papered over part of the difference and then raised taxes.

Since the next fiscal year will also have a deficit, we can count on similar tactics in the 2010 legislative session. Trimming a little spending, “delaying” tax cuts, or hoping for a federal bailout won’t address the fundamental problem: Ohio’s politicians simply spend too much.

From 1998 to 2008, Ohio’s budget grew by 41%. New government programs were created, existing government programs were expanded, and various interest groups were given tax dollars for their desired projects. Republicans as well as Democrats were happy handing out tax dollars at ever-increasing rates and there was little fiscal discipline in Columbus.

When tax revenue was flowing in, it was easy to sustain the growth of Big Government. When tax revenue declines, though, those who now count on the new government spending fiercely resist seeing it stop or even decrease. Legislators and the governor are faced with an uncomfortable situation.

That seems to be why Governor Strickland has expressed his hope for another round of federal money to alleviate the state budget woes. Most other states are in a similar budget predicament, and they, too, would like to see the feds help them cover up their fiscal mismanagement. With estimates that state budget deficits could total $180 billion in the next fiscal year, a hefty federal bailout would be necessary at a time when even the big spenders in DC are blanching at adding to the record-high federal deficit.

Of course, whether the money comes from Columbus or Washington, DC, it comes from our pocketbook. Government can’t spend what it doesn’t first tax or borrow. Ultimately taxpayers will be paying for any federal bailout funds that come to Ohio. The only difference is whether it is funneled through the U.S. Treasury or the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Instead of hoping for an unlikely federal bailout, Ohio policymakers should learn from this year’s budget debacle and get serious about enacting reforms that will provide a more permanent solution to the state’s problems. Eliminating useless government programs, cutting the bloated state workforce and trimming its wages and benefits, and finding more efficient ways to provide necessary services is a good start. It’s also necessary to enact tax and regulatory reforms that will make Ohio an attractive place for businesses, which will increase tax revenue without the need to hike tax rates.

A federal bailout may make politicians’ jobs easier, but it’s not what Ohio really needs.

Marc Kilmer is a policy analyst with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a research and educational institute located in Columbus, Ohio.

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Mandating Higher Insurance Costs

Posted on December 21, 2009 by | 1 comment

By Marc Kilmer

At a time when the U.S. Senate is debating legislation that will supposedly bring down health insurance costs for Americans, the state House of Representatives just passed legislation that would hike these costs. While this legislation was passed with the best of intentions, it’s effect will be to hurt small businesses and lead to more uninsured in the state.

The legislation at question is two bills that mandate insurance companies cover treatment for autism (up to $36,000 a year) and treatment for diabetes. Some Ohioans will certainly benefit from these mandates and will find their costs for these treatments decline. The benefits from the legislation aren’t the whole story, though. The wider harm caused to everyone else that has health insurance was disregarded by legislators who promoted these measures.

Treatments for autistic children can be very expensive. Parents of these children understandably want someone else to help share their burden. Likewise, coverage for diabetics can cost a lot of money. But this legislation doesn’t really force insurance companies to pay for these treatments. Instead, legislators have forced everyone who has insurance to pay for them. Insurance companies don’t just print money to pay for services. They get money from the insurance premiums you pay. If they need more money, they raise the price of premiums.

While not the intended effect, if these bills become law it will lead to higher prices for health insurance in Ohio. Not all health insurance will be affected, though. Big companies that provide their own insurance aren’t covered by state law. Small businesses and individuals who purchase their own insurance are the ones who will be paying for this legislation.

Ohio has seen many small businesses close their doors or lay off workers in the past couple years. Business owners are cutting cut costs to stay in business. Even a modest price increase for health insurance will likely mean that some will drop such coverage completely. The result will be more people without insurance in the state. For those companies that do decide to keep insurance, it will mean either less profit for employers or lower wages for employees, both of which are especially unwelcome during a recession.

Ohio already mandates that insurance companies must cover a number of procedures, artificially raising the cost of insurance. For instance, even if you believe that chiropractors offer few legitimate medical treatments, your insurance must cover their services. Or even if you’ve never touched a drug in your life, state legislators mandate that your insurance cover drug addiction treatment. But compared to other states, Ohio does pretty well. Legislators have been steadily adding to these mandates over the years, though, and the governor wants even more regulation of health insurance. At the same time, these same politicians decry the rising cost of health insurance, even though they are directly responsible for part of this price increase.

All this is not to say that insurance should not cover treatment for autism or diabetes. Health insurance consumers should have the freedom to buy such insurance if they wish. But if you want to pay lower prices for a policy without such coverage, you should be free to do so, too. Not every one wants, or can afford, a policy that covers every disease or treatment. Ohioans should have the freedom to shop for insurance policies that meet their budgets and their medical needs. The Ohio House of Representatives wants to take that freedom from you, though. If this were the automobile market, it would be like legislators saying that if you don’t buy a Cadillac, you can’t own a car at all. For some people, a Kia works just fine.

The best way to help health insurance consumers is to remove government mandates and allow health insurance companies to tailor policies to meet individual consumers’ needs. Imposing politically-driven restrictions on insurance drives up the cost for all and helps only a very few. That’s not the kind of health insurance reform Ohioans need.

Marc Kilmer is a policy analyst with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a research and educational institute located in Columbus, Ohio.

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Austria announces WPAFB commission…

Posted on December 14, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Andy Myers

I sure hope this time around, the people of Greene County don’t fall again for Steve Austria’s “re-election” photo op he’s so well known for. The pictures of Steve meeting with various community leaders, students and business leaders are nothing but visual campaign ads he’s hoping might get him re-elected to a second term to the District of Criminals.

Mr. Austria is nothing more than a career tax-feeder, uh, I mean politician. He’s been groomed early on and is the “chosen one” with the local Republican Party. You get to be the “chosen one” because you sell out the Constitution and the oath you swore to uphold, and instead insure nothing drastically changes that would upset the “balance of power” here at home. Mr. Austria is also “bought and paid for” by the same old major players and special interests in our district who cough up hundreds of thousands of dollars to his election campaign to insure our confiscated tax-dollars flow back “to them” so that they can graciously put us poor saps back to work on our dime, all thanks to them. It’s nothing more than “welfare” and a redistribution of your hard earned money to “pay to play” players in his district.

Mr. Austria fits right in with the socialist philosophy in Washington. He voted FOR HR 1388, Obama Camps or better known as Generation Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act. Somewhere in the Constitution he saw where he along with the other confiscators could vote FOR the Garrett amendment to HR 3269 authorizing another $2 Billion for the Cash for Clunkers. He voted FOR HR 2647 or the Hate Crimes Creation Act. And the list goes on. But hopefully this should be sufficient to get the good people of Congressional District 7 to hand Mr. Austria his pink slip in 2010.

We don’t need another politician who embraces the political ideologies of socialism. We need a leader who will stand up against those who have taken America to the brink of destruction. We need a statesman who understands and takes seriously the oath they swear by. We need someone who understands the limits of federal law according to article 1 section 8, someone who will represent the people instead of going along with the party and the beltway mafia. We need another Dr. NO in congress.

Andy Myers is Region Coordinator of the Ohio Freedom Alliance

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Why Would City Council Even Consider Adding Fuoride to Xenia’s Drinking Water

Posted on December 9, 2009 by | 1 comment

By Daniel Downs

During the last meeting, Council President Dennis Propes proposed an ordinance that would authorize the city manager to fluoridate Xenia’s drinking water. Most council members still remember the community voting down this proposal three times in the past. So why reintroduce it?

In the past, city officials sold water fluoridation as a convenient way to lower the cost of treating water, prevent tooth decay, and build stronger bones. It also is true that fluoride is a natural trace element. Medical studies have supported the belief that consuming water supplemented with fluoride does result in increased bone density or stronger bones. Besides all of those benefits, most, if not all, of neighboring cities and regions fluoridate their water.

In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, J.V. Kumar of the New York Health Department reported that the state spent nearly $24 million on water fluoridation with no statistically significant reduction in the rate of tooth decay among children 7 to 17 years of age. His comparative study examined whether children in communities with different levels of water fluoridation demonstrated any differences in levels of cavities. At all levels, including no fluoridation and the optimal level of 1.2 milligrams/ Liter, there was a 2 percent or less difference All of which means the state of New York has been wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.

Wasting a taxpayers’ hard earned money is bad enough, but jeopardizing their health is unconscionable.

In 2005, a majority of EPA scientists by union proxy asked the head of the EPA to place fluoride on its list of carcinogenic chemicals.

In 2006, National Research Council (NRC) published the results of their study of fluoride in drinking water entitled “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standard.” They reviewed all relevant research on the health impacts of fluoride on both animal and humans. At press conference, John Doull, chair of the research team, summarized the NRC’s findings. He began by identifying fluoride as an EPA regulated contaminate of drinking water and not as a beneficial trace element. He proceeded to define the EPA’s 40-year-old two-tier standard of acceptable fluoride levels. The EPA set tier one at a maximum of 4 milligrams of fluoride to 1 liter of water below which no adverse health risk was expected, and tier two level is a maximum of 2 milligrams of fluoride in 1 liter of drinking water below which no discoloration or other damage of tooth enamel (fluorosis) was expected. He continued by briefly summarizing several important conclusions of their 530-page review:

  1. Drinking water is the main source of fluoride. Seventy-two (72%) to ninety-four percent (94%) of fluoride intake is through drinking water fluoridated at EPA levels.

  2. Lifelong consumption of fluoride in drinking water results in increased bone fractures.

 

The study uncovered a number of other health risks resulting from fluoride consumption. One of risks includes skeletal fluorosis, which involves increased bone density and pitting of bones. It also causes joint stiffness, pain, and sometime impairment. Fluoride consumption also adversely affects thyroid function when the iodine levels are too low. Because fluoride consumption produces greater glucose intolerance, fluoridating drinking water will exacerbate the health problems of citizens with diabetes. Fluoride consumption is known to weaken the immune system thus putting citizens already with compromised immune systems at greater risk.

NRC also suspects fluoride is an important factor in liver, kidney, intestinal, and mental diseases, but previous research was inconclusive requiring more research.

Some of the research reviewed did show links between fluoride consumption and mental diseases like Alzheimer and dementia. Other studies conducted in China concluded that fluoride also diminishes intellectual abilities like problem solving.

Another study published in 2006 discovered strong links between water fluoridation and bone cancer in young boys. The findings of Harvard medical study led by Dr. Bassin, and referenced by the EPA scientists above, showed that with the consumption of fluoridated water, the risk of osteosarcoma in boys increased sevenfold. Some readers may remember hearing about this study from all of the mainstream news media.

According to some reports, osteosarcoma is the second most common type of bone cancer. It accounts for 20 percent of all bone malignancies, and 50 percent of all cases occur around the knee.

With the widely increasing knowledge about the harmful effects of treating water with fluoride, it is surprising that city officials could agree to further discussion let alone a vote, which they plan to do on December 10. Do they really want to jeopardize further the health of the community’s children and at-risk members? Maybe some do; but citizens have an opportunity to tell them to stop–stop placing our health and welfare at risk.

To do so, visit to the Council website at http://www.ci.xenia.oh.us where each council member’s email address and telephone number may be obtain.

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