Category Archives: research

Manufacturer Consumption Down in 2009

Posted on February 11, 2010 by | Leave a comment

By Daniel Downs

It appears no one is being a good consumer nowadays. Not only are retail and service consumers holding on to their nickels and dimes, but so are industrial consumers.

The latest report by the American Association of Manufacturing Technology (AAMT) revealed consumption of industrial technology goodies was down 60 percent in 2009.

The shining bright in the midst of the black lagoon of recessionary consumption was the Midwest region–Ohio included. During the month of December, the Midwest was the only region posting real dollar increase in spending. Good ole’ consumption of metal cutting technologies was up 19.4 percent while consumption of metal fabricating technologies was down 4.8 percent. Total real dollar manufacturing technology consumption was 14.1 percent, according to the number crunchers at AAMT.

I can just smell the hot cutting oil burning. Ahhhhh!

Unfortunately, the rich aroma of oily production was only smoking up the Midwest during December. This fortuitous event may have been the combined result of both the automaker bailout by Congress and Obama’s stimulus, an effort to make his own light shine upon the hill. According to the AAMT, however, the total year-to-year consumption was down by 65.4 percent, which was more than any other region in the USA.

So where do place the blame for the depressing downturn of industrial consumption? Was it solely caused by bureaucrats on Capitol Hill? Greedy bankers? The lovers of money printing at the Federal Reserve? Or just a bad case of gas caused consuming to much manufacturing technology? Maybe it was a combination of the aforementioned causes?

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Harmful Bacteria Found In Fountain Drinks At Fast Food Restaurants

Posted on February 1, 2010 by | Leave a comment

A recent medical study reported finding fecal bacteria, EColi, and other harmful pathogens in drinks from soda fountains at fast food restaurants. The study found fecal bacteria in 48 percent of fountain drinks tested. E Coli was found in 11 percent of drinks including water. Most of the harmful bacteria were also resistant to 11 different antibiotics. These findings expose risk to public health especially to people with immunodeficiency disorders.

Dr. Mercola reminded readers it was only a few years ago that twelve year-old middle schooler Jasmine Roberts won the science fair at her school when she discovered that the ice used in the drinks of fast food restaurants had more bacteria than the toilet water. Then, in 2008, we learned that two of every three restaurant lemon wedges tested were covered in disease-causing bacteria.”

The reasons to avoid eating at fast food establishments are piling up faster than you can say, “Pour me another Coke-a coli,” says Dr. Mercola.

Even if someone were to invent a pocket-sized ultra-violent bacteria killing device, it eventually result in the depletion of health bacteria in fast food connoisseurs.

So what to do? The next time you feel like you have food poisoning remember it is most likely came from the fast food fountain drink. If that is the case, you can always sue the fast food chain for damages.

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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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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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Bond Issue 28 Update: Xenia On A High Water Table Not Just Spring Hill Elementary

Posted on November 1, 2009 by | Leave a comment

I just found the multi-governmental soil survey of Xenia. It is part of the Soil Survey of Greene County made by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, the Ohio State University Extension, the Greene Soil and Water Conservation District and the Greene County Commissioners. It was part of the technical assistance furnished to the Greene Soil and Water Conservation District. This and all other soil surveys are archived at the US Dept. of Agriculture

The soil survey presents several revealing facts about Issue 28. First, the survey defined the types of soil complexes for every parcel of land in Xenia. The area surrounding City Hall, including Towne Square, is classified as Oakely-Urban complex (undulating). The type of soil surrounding Tecumseh Elementary is described as Eldean Silt Loam. Cox Elementary is built on the same type of soil as City Hall. The type of soil underneath Spring Hill Elementary is Miamian-Urban (undulated).

Second, all of these areas have similar characteristics:

(1) All have temporary high water tables during certain times during the year. The depth to the seasonally high water table is more than 6 feet in all areas.

(2) Flooding is highly improbable.

(3) Moderate shrinking and swelling of soil could crack foundations and basement walls without special design techniques. The same applies to roads and streets.

Third, the facts of the soil survey that I am at present looking at reveals how the politics of money trumps the good of all school children in Xenia. The use of soil survey data by school officials to justify the elimination of an important neighborhood school is deceptively wrong. Issue 28 may be sold as good for all Xenia’s school buildings; but, it is not for the good of South Hill’s school children and their families.

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The Truth About the Flu Shot

Posted on October 13, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Sherri Tenpenny, DO

What’s in the regular flu shot?

 
  • Egg proteins: including avian contaminant viruses
  • Gelatin: can cause allergic reactions and anaphylaxis are usually associated with sensitivity to egg or gelatin
  • Polysorbate 80 (Tween80™): can cause severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Also associated with inferility in female mice.
  • Formaldehyde: known carcinogen
  • Triton X100: a strong detergent
  • Sucrose: table sugar
  • Resin: known to cause allergic reactions
  • Gentamycin: an antibiotic
  • Thimerosal: mercury is still in multidose flu shot vials

Do flu shots work?

Not in babies: In a review of more than 51 studies involving more than 294,000 children it was found there was “no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shot was any more effective than placebo. In children over 2 yrs, it was only effective 33% of the time in preventing the flu.

Reference: “Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2 (2008).

Not in children with asthma: A study 800 children with asthma, where one half were vaccinated and the other half did not receive the influenza vaccine. The two groups were compared with respect to clinic visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations for asthma. CONCLUSION: This study failed to provide evidence that the influenza vaccine prevents pediatric asthma exacerbations.

Reference: “Effectiveness of influenza vaccine for the prevention of asthma exacerbations.” Christly, C. et al. Arch Dis Child. 2004 Aug;89(8):734-5.

Not in children with asthma (2): “The inactivated flu vaccine, Flumist, does not prevent influenza-related hospitalizations in children, especially the ones with asthma…In fact, children who get the flu vaccine are more at risk for hospitalization than children who do not get the vaccine.”

Reference: The American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference, May 15-20, 2009, San Diego.

Not in adults: In a review of 48 reports including more than 66,000 adults, “Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6% and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16) days. It did not change the number of people needing to go to hospital or take time off work.”

Reference: “Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (2006).

Not in the Elderly: In a review of 64 studies in 98 flu seasons, For elderly living in nursing homes, flu shots were non-significant for preventing the flu. For elderly living in the community, vaccines were not (significantly) effective against influenza, ILI or pneumonia.

Reference: “Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.3 (2006).

What about the new Swine Flu shot?

Some of the new H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines are going to be made by Novartis. These shots will probably be made in PER.C6 cells (human retina cells) and contain MF59, a potentially debilitating adjuvant. MF-59 is an oil-based adjuvant primarily composed of squalene.

All rats injected with squalene (oil) adjuvants developed a disease that left them crippled, dragging their paralyzed hindquarters across their cages. Injected squalene can cause severe arthritis (3 on scale of 4) and severe immune responses, such as autoimmune arthritis and lupus.

Ref: (1): Kenney, RT. Edleman, R. “Survey of human-use adjuvants.” Expert Review of Vaccines. 2 (2003) p171.

Ref: (2): Matsumoto, Gary. Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That’s Killing Our Soldiers and Why GI’s Are Only the First Victims of this Vaccine. New York: Basic Books. p54.

Federal health officials are starting to recommend that most Americans get three flu shots this fall: one regular flu shot and two doses of the vaccine made against the new swine flu strain. School children who have never had a flu shot are targeted for four shots in the fall – twice for seasonal flu, twice for pandemic swine flu. (July 15, 2009 news)

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been talking to school superintendents around the country, urging them to make plans to use buildings for mass vaccinations and for vaccinating kids first. (CBS News, June 12, 2009.)

Is Mandatory Vaccination Possible?

1946: US Public Health Service was established and Executive Order (EO) 9708 was signed, listing the communicable diseases where quarantines could be used. 1946 and 2003, cholera, diphtheria, TB, typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever, & viral hemorrhagic fevers were added.

April 4, 2003: EO 13295 added SARS to the list.

April 1, 2005: EO 13295 added “Influenza caused by novel or re-emergent influenza viruses that are causing, or have the potential to cause, a pandemic.” EO 13295 also: The president gave the Sec. of HHS the power to quarantine, his or her discretion. Sec of HHS has the power to arrange for the “apprehension and examination of persons reasonably thought to be infected.” A cough or a fever could put a person at risk for being quarantined for an extended period of time without recourse.

January 28, 2003: Project BioShield was introduced during Bush’s State of the Union Address. This created permanent and indefinite funding authority to develop “medical countermeasures.”

The NIH was given authority to speed approval of drugs and vaccines. Emergency approval of a “fast tracked” drug and vaccine can be given without the regular course of safety testing.

December 17, 2006: Division E: The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA) was added as an addendum to Defense Appropriations Bill HR 2863 at 11:20p on Saturday night, long after House Committee members had signed off on the bill and gone home for the holidays.

Section (b)(1) states: The Sec of HHS can make a determination that a “disease, health condition or threat” constitutes a public health emergency. He or she may then recommend “the manufacture, testing, development, administration, or use of one or more covered counter measures…” A covered countermeasure defined as a “pandemic product, vaccine or drug.”

Division E also provides complete liability protection for all drugs, vaccines or biological products deemed a “covered countermeasure” and used for an outbreak of any kind. In July, 2009, complete liability protection was extened to drug companies that included any product used for any public health emergency declared by Sec of HHS.

Pharma is now protected from all accountability, unless “criminal intent to do harm” can be proven by the injured party. They are protected from liability even if they know the drug will be harmful.

“By 1853, Parliament began passing laws to make the untested vaccine compulsory throughout the British Empire. Other countries of Europe followed suit. Once the economic implications of compulsory vaccinations were realized, few dared to disagree. Then, as now, the media were controlled by the vaccine manufacturers and the government, who stood to make huge money from the sale of these spurious vaccines.”… Tim O’Shea, D.C.

For more info, visit Dr. Tenpenny’s website at www.drtenpenny.com

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Small Business Outlook on the Economy

Posted on September 10, 2009 by | Leave a comment

The latest Discover Financial Services “Small Business Watch” survey was released on Monday, August 31. The best that can be said seems to be that small business owners’ lack of confidence in the economy may have bottomed. Clearly, the readings from small businesses are still anything but rosy.

A few key findings on the August survey:

• 43% of small business owners believe the economy is getting worse – the lowest level in the survey’s three-year history – while 38% see it getting better. Meanwhile, 15% see it staying the same.

• 48% of small business owners ranked the economy as poor, 41% fair, and only 9% as good or excellent.

• As for their own firms, 30% saw economic conditions improving, 43% getting worse, and 23% unchanged.

• In addition, 27% of small business owners said they were going to boost spending on business development, 43% said reduce, and 25% no changes.

The only real positive that can be pulled from this survey is that the negatives were a bit less negative than in recent months. According to this poll, most small business owners clearly are still quite sour on the economy.

Considering the importance of small business to economic growth, innovation and job creation, perhaps our elected officials at the federal, state and local levels should take note. Rather than focusing on big spending programs, a pro-growth course includes tax and regulatory relief to help reinvigorate confidence and investment among our nation’s entrepreneurs.

That, however, would require a major shift in thinking among many in power right now. For example, the current plan is to sock America’s entrepreneurs and investors with higher personal income, capital gains, dividend and death taxes over the coming 16 months, while also increasing energy and health care costs in the future. That is anything but pro-small business, and therefore is bad for the economy.

Source: Raymond J, Keating, Small Business & Entreprenurial Council News, September 3, 2009

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Suicide Prevention Drug Fraud: Study Finds 80 Percent of Suicide Victims On Antidepressant Drugs

Posted on August 25, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Mike Adams, Natural News Editor

A Swedish writer has accused the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) of covering up evidence suggesting a connection between psychiatric drugs and suicide. Under a recent law, Swedish health-care providers must fill out reports on all suicides committed by patients under their care or within four weeks of a health care visit. The reports are then sent to the NBHW, which compiles and analyzes them.

Recently, the NBHW released the first report analyzing the 367 suicides recorded in 2006. “Not a single word is written about the most compelling fact: Well over 80 percent of persons killing themselves were treated with psychiatric drugs,” Janne Larson writes.

According to data received via a Freedom of Information Act request, more than 80 percent of the 367 suicides had been receiving psychiatric medications. More than half of these were receiving antidepressants, while more than 60 percent were receiving either antidepressants or antipsychotics. There is no mention of this either in the NBHW paper or in major Swedish media reports about the health care suicides.

Why the truth won’t be reported in the mainstream media

“It was contrary to the best interests of Big Pharma and biological psychiatrists” to expose the information, Larson writes. “It blew the myths of antidepressants and neuroleptics [antipsychotics] as suicide protecting drugs to pieces. It would also have hurt the career of many medical journalists to take up this subject; journalists who for years have made their living by writing marketing articles about new antidepressant drugs.”

These statements are quite true. The conspiracy of silence between Big Pharma and the mainstream media is now so strong that accurate news about the dangers of psychiatric drugs is rarely reported. As we recently saw in the death of Heath Ledger, the mainstream media is quick to blame the victim, but slow to realize that the real cause of these behavioral problems rests with the chemicals that alter brain function (and therefore alter behavior).

Evidence has emerged that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) actually increases the risk of suicide in those who take them. While such claims have been hotly disputed by the pharmaceutical industry and many psychiatrists, experimental, epidemiological and case study evidence continues to emerge that reinforces such a link. The evidence suggests that those taking SSRIs are approximately twice as likely to commit suicide as those not taking such medications. This risk increase appears to be independent of the specific diagnosis or other underlying health factors.

Even worse, recent research published in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS Medicine (see http://medicine.plosjournals.org/pe…) reveals that antidepressant drugs don’t work any better than placebo at reducing depression. This study looked at all the clinical trials conducted on SSRIs, not just the ones selected by drug companies for publication. It reveals that SSRI drug manufacturers committed scientific fraud in censoring studies that did not show positive results. Now, the whole world knows that the disease mongering and hype behind antidepressant drugs was based on pure scientific fraud.

Source: Natural News.com, February 28, 2009

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Vitamin D May Be the Cure For the Common Cold

Posted on March 27, 2009 by | Leave a comment

In the largest study yet of the association between vitamin D and respiratory infections, people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu. The risks were even higher for those with chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma.

Vitamin C has been used for the prevention of colds for decades, but little scientific evidence supports its effectiveness. In contrast, evidence has accumulated that vitamin D plays a key role in the immune system.

The wintertime deficiency of vitamin D, which the body produces in response to sunlight, has been implicated in the seasonal increase in colds and flu, and previous small studies have suggested an association between low blood levels of vitamin D and a higher risk of respiratory infections.

The newest study analyzed blood levels of vitamin D from almost 19,000 adult and adolescents, selected to be representative of the overall U.S. population.

How much D is enough?

Dr. Mecola also wrote that the late winter average vitamin D level is only about 15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a very serious deficiency state. It’s estimated that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens may be deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public.

It’s not so surprising then that the average American adult typically gets two colds per year. And those who are seriously deficient may suffer at least one additional one. But that’s under the current, now outdated, guidelines for normal vitamin D levels. I strongly believe you could avoid colds and influenza entirely by maintaining your vitamin D level in the optimal range.

So what is the optimal level of D?

Dr. Mercola’s chart below provides a good estimation.

To see Dr. Mercola’s report on these medical findings, go here.

Source: Mercola.com Newsletter, March 21, 2009.

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Buying Xenia at City Council

Posted on March 3, 2009 by | Leave a comment

During the February 12 City Council meeting, Dale Louderback read part of a study demonstrating the value of buying from local businesses. Some major benefits relevant to “Buy Xenia” are as follows:

For every $100 in consumer spending with a local firm, $68 remains in the local economy.
 
For every $100 in consumer spending with a chain firm, $43 remains in the local economy.
 
For every square foot occupied by a local firm, local economic impact is $179.
 
For every square foot occupied by a chain firm, local economic impact is $105.
 
Over 70% prefer to patronize locally-owned businesses.
 
Over 80% prefer traditional urban business districts.
 
Local merchants generate substantially greater economic impact than chain firms.
 
Replacement of local businesses with chains will reduce the overall vigor of the local economy.
 
Changes in consumer spending habits can generate substantial local economic impact.
 
Great care must be taken to ensure that public policy decisions do not inadvertently disadvantage locally owned businesses. Indeed, it may be in the best interests of communities to institute policies that directly protect them.
 

(Source: Andersonville Study of Retail Economics)

Louderback apparently shared this important information to spur discussion concerning the City’s purchases of out-of-town businesses instead of local ones. He raised some doubt about the lack of Council support for buying from local suppliers. He got only two responses. Mayor Penewitt assured him that she has always promoted local buying. Bill Miller reminded Council that ex-councilman Gordon was also a supporter. Louderback retorted by challenging the mayor to vote against several proposed purchases.

As interesting as Louderback’s goading fellow council members is, the point is only one other council members publicly proclaimed their support of local businesses. I suspect most member do, but it is still sad that most failed to assure the public of it. After all, we are in a serious economic crisis.

Mayor Penewitt did ask the Director of Finance about what criteria was used to determine when the city purchased goods or services locally. There is no local preference policy about buying locally as it was before the 1973 tornado when Xenia was a thriving retail hub in Greene County. The only criterion determining scheduled purchases is when the amount is $7,500 or more. At that level of spending, “staff is encouraged to get competitive quotes and they encourage local purchasing of goods and services when it is in the best interest financially for the city to do so.”

According to Bazalek, “there used to a Greene County preference ordinance years ago to use businesses in Greene County if their selling price was 5% greater or less, but that was repealed a number of years ago.”

Councilman Louderback said he has done his homework and has spoken to every business in Xenia. Local businesses state they will match or beat the prices. We have been talking about this for over a year. City staff knows local businesses will match or beat the prices, so why do we keep discussing it week after week.

Maybe Council should reinstate the local preference policy. That alone might encourage more local entrepreneurs to start businesses in their hometown. What do you think?

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