A few good governors for president
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
Chalk up another one for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
No, this column isn’t specific to Senate Bill 5, although we’ll touch on that, too.
In his first state budget proposal, the governor has included one simple reform measure that could bring Ohio into the 21st century and allow government (i.e. taxpayer-funded) legal notices to be published online.
While other states have been a little more on the ball than the Buckeye State (what’s new?), Gov. Kasich has presented a plan to allow certain state agencies to forgo the traditional – and costly – newspaper advertisements and, instead, place these notices online.
The idea isn’t new. A group of Ohio Democratic lawmakers tried something similar four years ago, but their effort was not supported by Gov. Ted Strickland.
The state’s newspaper industry lobbied hard against that reform attempt and will no doubt work hard to defeat Gov. Kasich’s proposal. It’s worth noting, however, that the Ohio newspaper industry no longer has the political clout it once did. To a great extent, it is the industry’s own fault, too.
When a few papers were notorious for charging taxpayers exorbitant rates for legal advertisements – rates above and beyond their typical ad rates – it’s no wonder this industry cash cow is about to dry up. One southern Ohio newspaper publisher – when not condoning the theft of a competitor’s newspapers – charged more than $59,000 for legal ads prior to one general election. This shows that reform is warranted.
State Sen. David Daniels estimated savings in the millions if Ohio can join the Internet age and place taxpayer-funded legals online. He’s right. And given the referendum on Senate Bill 5 that’s headed for the 2011 general election, the Ohio General Assembly clearly needs to approve the governor’s proposal on legal reform. The public will not be any less informed. There will not be any less “transparency.” And should the newspaper lobbyists continue their cry that it’s “All about informing the public,” (which it isn’t), just remember that the newspapers are still free to publish any and all legal notices as unpaid news releases.
Meanwhile, those who desire to read the full text of a 20,000-word legal ad can do so – for free.
* * *
In addition to Gov. Kasich’s impressive first 100 days, another Midwestern state’s executive is off to a pretty good start in his own right. At 43, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has withstood more protests than my old fourth-grade school lunch menu’s liver and onions. For having the unprecedented audacity to suggest that Wisconsin’s taxpayer-funded government jobs with their lucrative pensions are unsustainable, Gov. Walker has been compared to Hitler and, perhaps to bring the insult to a more current comparison, Hosni Mubarak.
Most of these insulting comparisons, oddly enough, have come about not all that long after President Obama and others on the Left demanded a more moderate tone to our overall civil disobedience, following the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Of course, the Left’s edict was issued under the false assumption that the congresswoman’s shooter was influenced by the right-wing rhetoric. Turns out, that was a big leap to an erroneous conclusion.
Has Obama said anything to calm the rhetoric against Govs. Walker or Kasich? If so, I’ve missed that report in the mainstream media. (Maybe they’re too busy counting their legal ad revenues.)
One report did catch my eye, though. This week, The Columbus Dispatch led a story on public pensions and benefits as follows: “An eye-opening report last year showed that states were behind in their public-pension and health-care liabilities by a collective $1 trillion. Now, the problem has grown by 26 percent in one year, the Pew Center on the States said. Why the stunning growth of the problem? Because states have acted like a credit-card holder who is paying off only the monthly balance – but not past debt – while making new purchases.”
The information was attributed to Susan K. Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States. “It’s clear that the challenge facing states has grown,” she said.
In the March 21 edition of the nation’s best fortnightly magazine, National Review, Gov. Walker told Robert Costa, “I was talking to former Gov. Tommy Thompson. He said, ‘Wisconsin set the table back in the 1990s on welfare reform. We were a leader there, and we were a leader on education reform. Now, we are talking about budgetary and fiscal reform. Wisconsin, in many cases, sets the pace.’”
On Wisconsin. On Ohio. Indeed.
* * *
To put the collective bargaining reform issue into just a little perspective for the average Ohio taxpayer, refer to the Ohio Department of Development demographics spreadsheet for Highland County. Household incomes of $60,000 or more a year are in the top 11 percent of all income earners. Those with household incomes from $100,000-$150,000 a year are in the top 7 percent.
Now, let’s think back to February when this newspaper had the nerve to publish the individual salaries of several public workers receiving $60,000 or more a year. Predictably, we took a lot of flak over that report. Many people challenged us to publish the names of the private-sector workers. That was not only priceless – it was laughable. Hint: The employers of private-sector workers already know what they pay their employees. We thought it only fair that the employers – that is, the taxpayers – have some idea of what their employees make.
After reading the state’s report on Highland County, we learn that those with $60,000-a-year household incomes are in the top 11 percent of all wage-earners. Maybe those fortunate enough to be on the list might want to reconsider their objections to its publication.
The fact is taxpayers are paying for many of the best jobs, the best benefits and the best retirement plans in Highland County. (Two of the county’s top three employers are school districts.) Those on the receiving end won’t like this, but they might be wise to ease their protests. Or, at least explain why the lower 89 percent of the county’s working families are obligated for these unsustainable disparities.
Sooner or later, the well will run dry. Eventually, so will the union protests. But not until the last drop is squeezed from the well of the taxpayers.
* * *
In a similar vein, is it any wonder that Obama is looking at the worst approval ratings of his three-year presidency?
A survey by Rasmussen Reports shows only 25 percent of voters “strongly approve” of the job the president is doing. But will this translate to a Republican win in 2012? Nope.
Obama has an orchestrated political plan to ride the rails to victory on the support of the public workers’ unions. It’s a good strategy, too.
The GOP does have plenty of big names looking to test the presidential waters. Too many names, in fact. With less than 20 months until the next presidential election, it’s getting close to Separation Day: The time to separate the wheat from the chaff (whatever that is).
Haley Barbour was professional enough to see this and stepped aside this week. Sarah Palin should follow his lead. Ditto Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and the any other of the same old cast of characters. Sadly, this probably includes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as well as Ron and Rand Paul.
OK. Mr. Wise Guy, you might inquire: Who’s left? So glad you asked!
While the Eastern U.S. would likely support a Jeb Bush-Chris Christie ticket, it’s not likely to happen. New Jersey Gov. Christie insists he’s not interested in the White House. And, as comedians everywhere learn, timing is everything. Simply put, it’s too soon for another Bush.
That leaves two or three very viable potential candidates for the 2012 GOP ticket. Two are from the Midwest, the other’s a Southerner. One’s a former governor. The other two are current governors. And remember, from 1976-2011 – for 28 of the 35 years – Americans have had a former state governor in the White House. So let’s give serious consideration to (former) Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Daniels/Pawlenty or Pawlenty/Johnson surely would be an improvement over Obama/Biden.
The Political Wizards within the national GOP ought to be able to sort this out and avoid lengthy and bitter primaries next year. Heck, it only took me about 15 minutes.
Will they? Of course not. Advantage Obama.
* * *
Earlier this month, a presidential-friendly story in The New York Times quoted an Obama official as saying it would be “so much easier to be president of China.” After all, the officials said, “No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao.”
I read this excerpt from “The Week” in the April 4 edition of NR, which editorialized in response to the Obama official: “Obama picked the wrong job then, didn’t he?”
Perhaps this applies in some degree to one of the three Republican candidates for mayor of Hillsboro. After reading a recent story from a Michigan media outlet, I believe it does.
In a report on www.northernexpress.com under the headline “The Serious Side of Drew Hastings,” Rick Coates writes about the popular candidate: “Certainly, some in Hillsboro must have thought (t)his campaign was a publicity stunt?”
To which, Hastings replied: “Yes and that really p---ed me off.”
Why would voters’ and taxpayers’ suspicions upset Hastings – or any other candidate? Isn’t that what the electoral process is all about? If voters and taxpayers had no suspicions about any candidate, why bother at all with elections? Just anoint the next chosen son.
Coates also quotes Hastings as saying: “I have watched as many small towns have been lied to and cheated by corporations and government.”
So have a lot of us.
Perhaps the “urinated off” Republican can forgive those who remain a bit apprehensive of his political aspirations. After all, he’s the professional comedian who’s made a video about the campaign in which he concluded: “I couldn’t be any worse.”
He also told Coates than he’s spent 20 years living in Los Angeles – which is more than half of his adult life. That’s odd, because he recently told The Highland County Press “I’ve never lived beyond 50 miles of Hillsboro – except for when I was in California.”
The statement “I’ve never lived beyond 50 miles of Hillsboro...” gives the impression that the candidate has a lifelong history of living in southern Ohio. He doesn’t. That’s OK. Just be a little more consistent.
The May 3 Republican mayoral primary provides voters with three choices: Terry Mikkelsen, Rod Daniels and Drew Hastings. Each, I’d like to believe, brings his own unique qualities, talents and experiences to the task. But if you’re looking for a clear-cut endorsement here, you’ll be disappointed. There are too many uncertainties.
Since so many of you have asked, if I had a vote on May 3, it would go to Terry Mikkelsen. But I don’t. For those of you who do, there’s a great deal of information available in last week’s Highland County Press, on our website. It would behoove voters to do their own research. It usually does.
We look forward to working with the next mayor, be it Mr. Daniels, Mr. Mikkelsen, Mr. Hastings or Mr. John Levo.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
No, this column isn’t specific to Senate Bill 5, although we’ll touch on that, too.
In his first state budget proposal, the governor has included one simple reform measure that could bring Ohio into the 21st century and allow government (i.e. taxpayer-funded) legal notices to be published online.
While other states have been a little more on the ball than the Buckeye State (what’s new?), Gov. Kasich has presented a plan to allow certain state agencies to forgo the traditional – and costly – newspaper advertisements and, instead, place these notices online.
The idea isn’t new. A group of Ohio Democratic lawmakers tried something similar four years ago, but their effort was not supported by Gov. Ted Strickland.
The state’s newspaper industry lobbied hard against that reform attempt and will no doubt work hard to defeat Gov. Kasich’s proposal. It’s worth noting, however, that the Ohio newspaper industry no longer has the political clout it once did. To a great extent, it is the industry’s own fault, too.
When a few papers were notorious for charging taxpayers exorbitant rates for legal advertisements – rates above and beyond their typical ad rates – it’s no wonder this industry cash cow is about to dry up. One southern Ohio newspaper publisher – when not condoning the theft of a competitor’s newspapers – charged more than $59,000 for legal ads prior to one general election. This shows that reform is warranted.
State Sen. David Daniels estimated savings in the millions if Ohio can join the Internet age and place taxpayer-funded legals online. He’s right. And given the referendum on Senate Bill 5 that’s headed for the 2011 general election, the Ohio General Assembly clearly needs to approve the governor’s proposal on legal reform. The public will not be any less informed. There will not be any less “transparency.” And should the newspaper lobbyists continue their cry that it’s “All about informing the public,” (which it isn’t), just remember that the newspapers are still free to publish any and all legal notices as unpaid news releases.
Meanwhile, those who desire to read the full text of a 20,000-word legal ad can do so – for free.
* * *
In addition to Gov. Kasich’s impressive first 100 days, another Midwestern state’s executive is off to a pretty good start in his own right. At 43, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has withstood more protests than my old fourth-grade school lunch menu’s liver and onions. For having the unprecedented audacity to suggest that Wisconsin’s taxpayer-funded government jobs with their lucrative pensions are unsustainable, Gov. Walker has been compared to Hitler and, perhaps to bring the insult to a more current comparison, Hosni Mubarak.
Most of these insulting comparisons, oddly enough, have come about not all that long after President Obama and others on the Left demanded a more moderate tone to our overall civil disobedience, following the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Of course, the Left’s edict was issued under the false assumption that the congresswoman’s shooter was influenced by the right-wing rhetoric. Turns out, that was a big leap to an erroneous conclusion.
Has Obama said anything to calm the rhetoric against Govs. Walker or Kasich? If so, I’ve missed that report in the mainstream media. (Maybe they’re too busy counting their legal ad revenues.)
One report did catch my eye, though. This week, The Columbus Dispatch led a story on public pensions and benefits as follows: “An eye-opening report last year showed that states were behind in their public-pension and health-care liabilities by a collective $1 trillion. Now, the problem has grown by 26 percent in one year, the Pew Center on the States said. Why the stunning growth of the problem? Because states have acted like a credit-card holder who is paying off only the monthly balance – but not past debt – while making new purchases.”
The information was attributed to Susan K. Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States. “It’s clear that the challenge facing states has grown,” she said.
In the March 21 edition of the nation’s best fortnightly magazine, National Review, Gov. Walker told Robert Costa, “I was talking to former Gov. Tommy Thompson. He said, ‘Wisconsin set the table back in the 1990s on welfare reform. We were a leader there, and we were a leader on education reform. Now, we are talking about budgetary and fiscal reform. Wisconsin, in many cases, sets the pace.’”
On Wisconsin. On Ohio. Indeed.
* * *
To put the collective bargaining reform issue into just a little perspective for the average Ohio taxpayer, refer to the Ohio Department of Development demographics spreadsheet for Highland County. Household incomes of $60,000 or more a year are in the top 11 percent of all income earners. Those with household incomes from $100,000-$150,000 a year are in the top 7 percent.
Now, let’s think back to February when this newspaper had the nerve to publish the individual salaries of several public workers receiving $60,000 or more a year. Predictably, we took a lot of flak over that report. Many people challenged us to publish the names of the private-sector workers. That was not only priceless – it was laughable. Hint: The employers of private-sector workers already know what they pay their employees. We thought it only fair that the employers – that is, the taxpayers – have some idea of what their employees make.
After reading the state’s report on Highland County, we learn that those with $60,000-a-year household incomes are in the top 11 percent of all wage-earners. Maybe those fortunate enough to be on the list might want to reconsider their objections to its publication.
The fact is taxpayers are paying for many of the best jobs, the best benefits and the best retirement plans in Highland County. (Two of the county’s top three employers are school districts.) Those on the receiving end won’t like this, but they might be wise to ease their protests. Or, at least explain why the lower 89 percent of the county’s working families are obligated for these unsustainable disparities.
Sooner or later, the well will run dry. Eventually, so will the union protests. But not until the last drop is squeezed from the well of the taxpayers.
* * *
In a similar vein, is it any wonder that Obama is looking at the worst approval ratings of his three-year presidency?
A survey by Rasmussen Reports shows only 25 percent of voters “strongly approve” of the job the president is doing. But will this translate to a Republican win in 2012? Nope.
Obama has an orchestrated political plan to ride the rails to victory on the support of the public workers’ unions. It’s a good strategy, too.
The GOP does have plenty of big names looking to test the presidential waters. Too many names, in fact. With less than 20 months until the next presidential election, it’s getting close to Separation Day: The time to separate the wheat from the chaff (whatever that is).
Haley Barbour was professional enough to see this and stepped aside this week. Sarah Palin should follow his lead. Ditto Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and the any other of the same old cast of characters. Sadly, this probably includes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as well as Ron and Rand Paul.
OK. Mr. Wise Guy, you might inquire: Who’s left? So glad you asked!
While the Eastern U.S. would likely support a Jeb Bush-Chris Christie ticket, it’s not likely to happen. New Jersey Gov. Christie insists he’s not interested in the White House. And, as comedians everywhere learn, timing is everything. Simply put, it’s too soon for another Bush.
That leaves two or three very viable potential candidates for the 2012 GOP ticket. Two are from the Midwest, the other’s a Southerner. One’s a former governor. The other two are current governors. And remember, from 1976-2011 – for 28 of the 35 years – Americans have had a former state governor in the White House. So let’s give serious consideration to (former) Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Daniels/Pawlenty or Pawlenty/Johnson surely would be an improvement over Obama/Biden.
The Political Wizards within the national GOP ought to be able to sort this out and avoid lengthy and bitter primaries next year. Heck, it only took me about 15 minutes.
Will they? Of course not. Advantage Obama.
* * *
Earlier this month, a presidential-friendly story in The New York Times quoted an Obama official as saying it would be “so much easier to be president of China.” After all, the officials said, “No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao.”
I read this excerpt from “The Week” in the April 4 edition of NR, which editorialized in response to the Obama official: “Obama picked the wrong job then, didn’t he?”
Perhaps this applies in some degree to one of the three Republican candidates for mayor of Hillsboro. After reading a recent story from a Michigan media outlet, I believe it does.
In a report on www.northernexpress.com under the headline “The Serious Side of Drew Hastings,” Rick Coates writes about the popular candidate: “Certainly, some in Hillsboro must have thought (t)his campaign was a publicity stunt?”
To which, Hastings replied: “Yes and that really p---ed me off.”
Why would voters’ and taxpayers’ suspicions upset Hastings – or any other candidate? Isn’t that what the electoral process is all about? If voters and taxpayers had no suspicions about any candidate, why bother at all with elections? Just anoint the next chosen son.
Coates also quotes Hastings as saying: “I have watched as many small towns have been lied to and cheated by corporations and government.”
So have a lot of us.
Perhaps the “urinated off” Republican can forgive those who remain a bit apprehensive of his political aspirations. After all, he’s the professional comedian who’s made a video about the campaign in which he concluded: “I couldn’t be any worse.”
He also told Coates than he’s spent 20 years living in Los Angeles – which is more than half of his adult life. That’s odd, because he recently told The Highland County Press “I’ve never lived beyond 50 miles of Hillsboro – except for when I was in California.”
The statement “I’ve never lived beyond 50 miles of Hillsboro...” gives the impression that the candidate has a lifelong history of living in southern Ohio. He doesn’t. That’s OK. Just be a little more consistent.
The May 3 Republican mayoral primary provides voters with three choices: Terry Mikkelsen, Rod Daniels and Drew Hastings. Each, I’d like to believe, brings his own unique qualities, talents and experiences to the task. But if you’re looking for a clear-cut endorsement here, you’ll be disappointed. There are too many uncertainties.
Since so many of you have asked, if I had a vote on May 3, it would go to Terry Mikkelsen. But I don’t. For those of you who do, there’s a great deal of information available in last week’s Highland County Press, on our website. It would behoove voters to do their own research. It usually does.
We look forward to working with the next mayor, be it Mr. Daniels, Mr. Mikkelsen, Mr. Hastings or Mr. John Levo.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]