by Danny Cross
03.15.2012
Tax Reduction Plan Is Typical Kasich
Plan to reduce income tax by taxing gas and oil companies met with opposition from industry
Gov. John Kasich
yesterday outlined a plan to reduce Ohio income taxes over a
five-year period and make up for the reduction in revenue by taxing
the oil and natural gas extraction industries his administration is
luring to the state. The resultant pushback from gas and oil
companies now pits opposition to various parts of Kasich’s drilling
plan from both sides — industry and environmentalists.
Dan Whitten, a vice president at America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a Washington-based trade group, had already expressed opposition to the idea, on March 8 telling Bloomberg in an email: “Natural-gas production is a capital-intensive undertaking and we believe generally that fees should be directed to communities where we work, with careful consideration of the possible direct jobs impacts.”
Other trade organizations today spoke out against the increased tax rates, as they would prefer to take all the energy out of Ohio’s land and not pay higher taxes.
Thomas Steward, executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, told The Cleveland Plain Dealer that his organization will fight the tax increase when the plan goes before lawmakers.
"This sounds like something that would have come from the left," Steward said.
Among the methods of extracting the natural gas is a controversial process called fracking, which involves blasting pressurized slurries of water, chemicals and sand into ancient shale formations, thousands of feet below ground. CityBeat reported on Jan. 24 that 43 households have filed a class-action lawsuit in response various environmental hazards allegedly caused by fracking in Geauga County, Ohio. From the story:
Fracking in Ohio is booming rapidly, thanks in part to the barely tapped potential of the vast Utica Shale, a gassy, 445-million-year-old rock formation that lies beneath a third of the state, at a depth of around 7,000 feet. Until last year, only three permits had been granted for horizontal drilling into the Utica, but in 2011 the number exceeded 40.
In 2004 Ohio’s State Legislature repealed the abilities of elected local governments to regulate or refuse gas drilling, instead handing full authority to the industry-friendly Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). In 2005, the U.S. Congress ruled to exempt fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The gas extraction
process has been found to be so environmentally detrimental that
France and Bulgaria have banned the practice in their countries. New
Jersey is the only U.S. state where it is banned. CityBeat in
January reported that State Rep. Denise Driehaus (D-Price Hill) had
sponsored one of three state bills that would tighten fracking
regulations and Rep. Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown) introduced a bill to
put a moratorium on wastewater injection.
Kasich’s interest in reducing income taxes comes one year after his two-year budget cost counties, municipalities and townships $167.1 million, according the The Columbus Dispatch, which described the plan’s impact on the state in the following manner: “Kasich's budget slashes aid to local governments: Tuition hikes limited to 3.5% for higher education.”
Ohio’s budget deficit was $8 billion when Kasich offered his 2011 budget, which his administration said would save $1.4 billion through reform measures that included reduced funding for social service programs such as the health and developmental disability departments.
Despite the still existing state budget deficit, Kasich wants to reduce income taxes, even though his spokesman Scott Milburn proudly told Bloomberg that, “the governor has already cut taxes by more than $800 million.”
by Hannah McCartney
03.08.2012
School Director Says Re-Testing Teachers Won't Help Schools
Kasich mandate to affect 10 percent of Ohio public schools, cost $2.1 million
Gov. John Kasich’s budget plan called for several large
reforms to fill an $8 billion hole in the state budget, but it appears teachers
are facing the brunt of Kasich’s larger changes. Aside from cutting funding
statewide for K-12 education, the plan mandates a reform not seen by educators
in any other state: required licensing tests for already-employed teachers at
schools ranking in the lowest 10 percentiles of Performance Index (PI) score
come September.
The PI of a given school is measured by its students’ achievement and Ohio General Test (OGT) test performance for grades 3 through 10. Schools with the lowest PIs (the scale ranks from 0-120) are designated on “Academic Watch” or “Academic Emergency,” which suggests that an overall student population is not meeting the state’s performance expectations. Core subjects examined include reading, English language arts, math, science, government, economics, history, fine arts, foreign language and geography. The next state report cards to monitor PI will be released in August. Find old report cards here.
Kasich says that re-testing teachers is a way to hold them more accountable for their performance and help school administrators highlight ineffective teachers for removal. Those who oppose the reform say Kasich is placing too much weight on the teachers, when other factors in performance include community, family life and the students themselves.
PACE High School, a charter school focused on dropout recovery in Bond Hill, is one of several Cincinnati schools ranking in that bottom 10 percent, meaning it will fall under Kasich’s mandate. PACE achieved a 20.9 percent graduation rate during that 2009-10 school year, which nearly doubled since 2007-08 year, when rates sunk to 10.9 percent. Still, every teacher at PACE will face re-licensing.
“If this testing is supposed to somehow automatically make our schools better, I don’t get that,” says Steven Hawley, Executive Director at PACE. "I know what it is politically — to look good. They think there must be some reason why these kids can't succeed."
Historically, Hawley says, schools with student populations of higher socioeconomic statuses and different demographics rank higher. And he has a point — schools with high performance index rates around Cincinnati include Mariemont City Schools, Indian Hill Exempted Village and Lakota Schools.
The Ohio Department of Education's State Report Card system compiles data from every school in a given district to create a district report card. PACE's Performance Index score in in 2010-11 school year was at 40.4. Cincinnati Public Schools earned an 87.3. Hawley insists PACE is full of wonderful kids, but that they're extraordinarily needy. Students come to PACE years behind schedule, he says.
“Gov. Kasich is all about the ‘American dream,’ ” Hawley says. “Most of our kids don’t even know what the American dream is."
“There’s very little opportunity for people to have meaningful dialogue to talk about why [schools like PACE] aren’t succeeding. ... I’d invite the governor to live in the inner city. If we’re all going to be measured the same, we’re all going to live the same,” Hawley says.
It’s still unclear whether the state of Ohio would pay for the tests or have districts and charter schools fund the testing, but the Ohio Education Association Teachers’ Union expects the tests to cost around $2.1 million to administer to about 6,000 teachers across the state.
The PI of a given school is measured by its students’ achievement and Ohio General Test (OGT) test performance for grades 3 through 10. Schools with the lowest PIs (the scale ranks from 0-120) are designated on “Academic Watch” or “Academic Emergency,” which suggests that an overall student population is not meeting the state’s performance expectations. Core subjects examined include reading, English language arts, math, science, government, economics, history, fine arts, foreign language and geography. The next state report cards to monitor PI will be released in August. Find old report cards here.
Kasich says that re-testing teachers is a way to hold them more accountable for their performance and help school administrators highlight ineffective teachers for removal. Those who oppose the reform say Kasich is placing too much weight on the teachers, when other factors in performance include community, family life and the students themselves.
PACE High School, a charter school focused on dropout recovery in Bond Hill, is one of several Cincinnati schools ranking in that bottom 10 percent, meaning it will fall under Kasich’s mandate. PACE achieved a 20.9 percent graduation rate during that 2009-10 school year, which nearly doubled since 2007-08 year, when rates sunk to 10.9 percent. Still, every teacher at PACE will face re-licensing.
“If this testing is supposed to somehow automatically make our schools better, I don’t get that,” says Steven Hawley, Executive Director at PACE. "I know what it is politically — to look good. They think there must be some reason why these kids can't succeed."
Historically, Hawley says, schools with student populations of higher socioeconomic statuses and different demographics rank higher. And he has a point — schools with high performance index rates around Cincinnati include Mariemont City Schools, Indian Hill Exempted Village and Lakota Schools.
The Ohio Department of Education's State Report Card system compiles data from every school in a given district to create a district report card. PACE's Performance Index score in in 2010-11 school year was at 40.4. Cincinnati Public Schools earned an 87.3. Hawley insists PACE is full of wonderful kids, but that they're extraordinarily needy. Students come to PACE years behind schedule, he says.
“Gov. Kasich is all about the ‘American dream,’ ” Hawley says. “Most of our kids don’t even know what the American dream is."
“There’s very little opportunity for people to have meaningful dialogue to talk about why [schools like PACE] aren’t succeeding. ... I’d invite the governor to live in the inner city. If we’re all going to be measured the same, we’re all going to live the same,” Hawley says.
It’s still unclear whether the state of Ohio would pay for the tests or have districts and charter schools fund the testing, but the Ohio Education Association Teachers’ Union expects the tests to cost around $2.1 million to administer to about 6,000 teachers across the state.
by Hannah McCartney
03.05.2012
ACLU of Ohio Protests Privatizing State Prisons
Says it will add to state budges, hurt public safety and lead to unnecessary incarcerations
There are certain institutions in the U.S. that we don't like to think of as strictly profit-seeking endeavors. It can be difficult to swallow that (supposedly) do-good establishments like retirement homes, textbook companies and hospitals exist to bring in revenue rather than serve the needs of a community without waiver. In Ohio, one state prison is already that — a business — and others could soon follow suit.
In September of 2011, Ohio became the first state in the nation to sell a state prison facility to a private prison company when the Lake Erie Correctional Institute in Ashtabula County was sold to the Corrections Corporation of America, the nation's largest prison operator, for $72.7 million.
The idea to privatize Ohio prisons was concocted by Gov. John Kasich in an attempt to fill an $8 billion hole in Ohio's budget. The sale brought in an extra $50 million to use in balancing Ohio's prison budget.
Kasich's budget strategy included an overhaul of Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which means that private prison facility owners would actually benefit from more incarcerations. Now, CCA has made an offerto 48 U.S. states to buy and privatize state prisons. The offer, the Corrections Investment Initiative, outlines CCA's plan to spend up to $250 million on state, local and federal entities and then manage the facilities. According to the CCA's statement from Harley Lappin, Chief Corrections Officer at CCA, they're only interested in buying facilities that are willing to sign over rights of ownership to the CCA for a minimum of 20 years, and states must agree to keep the facilities at least 90 percent full.
With six million Americans in the corrections system, the U.S. already has the highest rates of incarceration in the world — including per capita and in absolute terms — surpassing countries like Iran, China and Russia. CCA'S website glorifies its mission as noble; a video on the home page shows a patriotic, proudly waving flag. Text touts its strategies as forward-thinking and altruistic, noting that they are "protecting public safety, employing the best people in solid careers, rehabilitating inmates, giving back to communities, and bringing innovative security to government corrections."
The ACLU of Ohio has issued a statement strongly opposing the change; it argues that privatizing state prisons will add debt to state budges, hurt public safety and lead to more unnecessary incarcerations. According to "Prisons for Profit: A Look at Prison Privatization," a report published by ACLU-Ohio, privately-run prisons only offer a short-term infusion of cash, not long-term savings. "Cost savings in privately run facilities [like those run by CCA] are achieved by cutting the pay of workers," says Mike Bricker, ACLU Director of Communications and Public Policy. Corrections officers in private facilities make significantly less and receive far less benefits than those in public facilities. This difference, he says, results in an astronomically higher turnover rate in private facilities. "When something bad happens, they leave," he says.
The high turnover rate makes for a consistently less experienced staff, which means officers aren't as well-prepared when a bad situation does arise. He cites an example when cutting corners came at a high price: A CCA-run Youngstown facility that opened in 1997 brought in 1,700 violent inmates from Washington, D.C. at what was supposed to be a medium-security prison. Over the course of a year, there were 16 stabbings, two murders and six escapes; the situation became such a concern to the community that Youngstown sued CCA in 1998 and the facility was shut down.
According to Brickner, the smallest incident is enough to negate the short-term revenue from privatizing prisons; when the main objective is profit, privatized prisons want to book non-violent offenders who won't be in facilities for a long period of time. That means cells become overcrowded when minor offenders could be in rehabilitation, and extremely violent detainees tend to be managed improperly.
In September of 2011, Ohio became the first state in the nation to sell a state prison facility to a private prison company when the Lake Erie Correctional Institute in Ashtabula County was sold to the Corrections Corporation of America, the nation's largest prison operator, for $72.7 million.
The idea to privatize Ohio prisons was concocted by Gov. John Kasich in an attempt to fill an $8 billion hole in Ohio's budget. The sale brought in an extra $50 million to use in balancing Ohio's prison budget.
Kasich's budget strategy included an overhaul of Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which means that private prison facility owners would actually benefit from more incarcerations. Now, CCA has made an offerto 48 U.S. states to buy and privatize state prisons. The offer, the Corrections Investment Initiative, outlines CCA's plan to spend up to $250 million on state, local and federal entities and then manage the facilities. According to the CCA's statement from Harley Lappin, Chief Corrections Officer at CCA, they're only interested in buying facilities that are willing to sign over rights of ownership to the CCA for a minimum of 20 years, and states must agree to keep the facilities at least 90 percent full.
With six million Americans in the corrections system, the U.S. already has the highest rates of incarceration in the world — including per capita and in absolute terms — surpassing countries like Iran, China and Russia. CCA'S website glorifies its mission as noble; a video on the home page shows a patriotic, proudly waving flag. Text touts its strategies as forward-thinking and altruistic, noting that they are "protecting public safety, employing the best people in solid careers, rehabilitating inmates, giving back to communities, and bringing innovative security to government corrections."
The ACLU of Ohio has issued a statement strongly opposing the change; it argues that privatizing state prisons will add debt to state budges, hurt public safety and lead to more unnecessary incarcerations. According to "Prisons for Profit: A Look at Prison Privatization," a report published by ACLU-Ohio, privately-run prisons only offer a short-term infusion of cash, not long-term savings. "Cost savings in privately run facilities [like those run by CCA] are achieved by cutting the pay of workers," says Mike Bricker, ACLU Director of Communications and Public Policy. Corrections officers in private facilities make significantly less and receive far less benefits than those in public facilities. This difference, he says, results in an astronomically higher turnover rate in private facilities. "When something bad happens, they leave," he says.
The high turnover rate makes for a consistently less experienced staff, which means officers aren't as well-prepared when a bad situation does arise. He cites an example when cutting corners came at a high price: A CCA-run Youngstown facility that opened in 1997 brought in 1,700 violent inmates from Washington, D.C. at what was supposed to be a medium-security prison. Over the course of a year, there were 16 stabbings, two murders and six escapes; the situation became such a concern to the community that Youngstown sued CCA in 1998 and the facility was shut down.
According to Brickner, the smallest incident is enough to negate the short-term revenue from privatizing prisons; when the main objective is profit, privatized prisons want to book non-violent offenders who won't be in facilities for a long period of time. That means cells become overcrowded when minor offenders could be in rehabilitation, and extremely violent detainees tend to be managed improperly.
"It is inherently wrong to allow private businesses to make a profit off
the incarceration of others," said Brickner in an ACLU press release. “Our state’s
prison system is bloated, and private corporations have a vested financial
interest to ensure our prisons remain full. If state officials have any hope of
shrinking our prison population, we must implement transformative criminal
justice reform policies and reject interests that grow our prison system.”
Brickner suggests that concerned citizens contact their elected representatives to express their opposition to privatizing prisons. Read the ACLU's full report on privatizing prisons here.
by Danny Cross
02.08.2012
Kasich Being Kasich
Governor’s real persona is more offensive than his political one
Ohio Gov. John Kasich yesterday delivered his second “State of the State” speech, a reportedly hilarious mockery of political tradition that ranged from harmlessly wacky to straight-up sexist, while making a pit stop in the “Parkinson’s disease is funny” category.
Kasich’s apparent intention was to announce a new broadband plan, introduce an award honoring courageous Ohioans and try to say that his plans for shale drilling in the Northeastern part of the state are totally going to respect the environment.
But the 90-minute speech in a Steubenville elementary school auditorium included far more Kasich bloopers than usual. The Enquirer included in the first paragraph of its recap Kasich’s references to “non-bluetongue cows going to Turkey” and “a dream about Jerry Seinfeld in the back seat of a car.” The AP described the speech as “peppered with Kasich's usual array of off-the-cuff, sometimes puzzling remarks.”
Those familiar with Kasich’s governing style will find these descriptions to be only slightly surprising. Remember last January when he called a police officer an “idiot” in a speech for giving him a speeding ticket? Or when he mocked Ohio’s drivers license for being pink (PINK IS SO GAY!)? Or that time he told a group of business owners that he wanted to make Ohio cool because the executives at LexisNexis said all their employees would rather live on the coasts instead of sucky-ass Ohio?
by Danny Cross
11.28.2011
Posted In: 2012 Election, Occupy Wall Street, News, Sports, Social Justice, County Commission, Governor, Protests at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Morning News and Stuff
Headline: "Stadium tax rebate favors wealthy." Analysis: "No shit." Owners of the county's most-expensive homes reportedly receive more savings from the property tax rollback than they pay in the sales tax increase that was supposed to pay for the sports stadiums. An Enquirer analysis of last year's property tax payout found that the half-cent sales tax increase amounts to a maximum of $192 annually, while some high-value homeowners received tax rebates of $1,175 or more.
• Million-dollar homes account for less than 1 percent of households, yet they received nearly 5 percent of the total rebates — or one out of every $20 paid out.
• One out of four homeowners - those with a home worth $200,000 or more - got $8.8 million in rebates - more than half the total rollback.
• The median Hamilton County homeowner with a property worth $106,700 is eligible to get a $50.15 rebate under the rollback.
• The 132 Hamilton County homeowners with houses worth $2.5 million or more get at least $1,175 apiece.
• Property owners with homes worth $150,000 or less account for nearly six out of 10 households, but collectively they received less than 23 percent of the benefits.
County commissioners have four days to tell the auditor to go ahead and tax homeowners at the previous rate, but Chris Monzel and Todd Portune are up for reelection this year and won't dare change take it away from the powerful rich people.
[Correction: Monzel is not up for reelection.]
Said former commissioner David Pepper:"At its core, the property tax rollback creates a reverse-Robin Hood scheme, where middle-class homeowners and renters are not only the ones paying for the stadium, but also footing the bill for a tax break for high-value property owners. Those high-end property owners are not paying for the stadium at all."
by Danny Cross
11.08.2011
Posted In: 2011 Election, 2012 Election, Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Cincinnati, News, County Commission, Governor, Sports, Music at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Morning News and Stuff
Happy Election Day! It looks like SB 5 is headed for a big defeat even though Gov. Kasich last night told a bunch of East Side Tea Partiers how cool it would be if Issue 2 passed, while a union representative told opponents of the bill that it was about to get “shoved down the throats of John Kasich and the Republicans.”
The Hamilton County Administrator yesterday said “sorry homeowners, but our stadium deficit will not allow us to offer the tax credit Republicans said would make up for your part of the stadium sales tax.” Commissioners Todd Portune and Chris Monzel today said they're going to include the credit even though they don't know how yet. Hopefully they can figure it out soon so they can work on adding public housing to the suburbs before the county gets sued by the Feds.
by Danny Cross
10.20.2011
Posted In: 2011 Election, 2012 Election, Occupy Cincinnati, Occupy Wall Street, Social Justice, News, Republicans, Sports, Poverty, Governor at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Morning News and Stuff
Approximately 50 Occupy Cincinnati protesters attended yesterday's City Council meeting to testify against Piatt Park's 10 p.m. closing time. Negotiations between the city and protesters is ongoing, according to reports, but no agreement was made yesterday after protesters turned down an offer of a new place to stay overnight and the city declined to let the group stay in the park under new restrictions.
Councilman Chris Bortz and Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz, both of whom have connections to property along the park, have brought up the possibility that if protesters aren't removed that someday the city will have to let the Ku Klux Klan camp out. Ghiz yesterday was criticized by protesters for posting on Facebook the private information of two people who wrote emails criticizing her (more on that here). CityBeat reflected on the situation again here.
by Danny Cross
09.30.2011
Morning News and Stuff
Opponents of Ohio's new restrictive election law have gotten it postponed until next year at the earliest, with a potential repeal of House Bill 194 in November ending it before it begins.
by Danny Cross
09.29.2011
Posted In: 2012 Election, 2011 Election, County Commission, Governor, Environment, News, Republicans, Sports at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Morning News and Stuff
Ohio's new concealed-carry law will take effect tomorrow, allowing Second Amendment lovers the opportunity to reach into their pocket and feel the cold, smooth feel of safety while enjoying a non-alcoholic beverage at a bar or restaurant in Ohio. Seriously, y'all better not be drinking or the liberals will tell on you before you can get buzzed enough to go outside and fire a couple of funny shots up into the air.
by Danny Cross
09.19.2011
Posted In: President Obama, Family, News, Republicans, Public Policy, Government, Governor at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Morning News and Stuff
Bill Cunningham is still trying to do TV, even though he looks like a doll who's come to life to murder people. This report explains how his new spray tan, hair coloring and expensive suits have contributed.
