Eight short (or not so short) years ago John Kasich became Governor of Ohio. He rode in on a wave of righteousness and fiscal conservatism. His two profound promises cut taxes and promote growth. And he did.
He went through the corporate tax structure slashing and burning with the fervor of a true zealot. The thinking being that once the wealthy had all they needed, or wanted, they would start sharing. A simple matter of Newtonian physics and displacement, once the vessel was full money would start working its way down. Pennies from Heaven, or at least the 45th floor.
Then he created a top-secret department to attract employers to Ohio. It had to be secret, they said, because they didn’t want Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Pennsylvania to find out what kind of incentives were being offered and give away even more. Promise them the world and throw in the moon, too.
Of course, it takes money to run a state, and offer obscene abatements to potential employers. And Kasich could hardly renege on his promise to cut taxes. So, he raised the sales tax. Not really a tax, not a real tax, anyway. He felt it was a solution that spread the burden around on everybody. Of course, it does have a much more painful effect on the most vulnerable. But, that is the price you pay for being vulnerable. Of course, the vulnerable became the needy in many cases.
Now, we have Mike DeWine, a conservative acolyte. He claims there is such a tremendous shortage of cash to repair roads and bridges he needs to raise the tax on gasoline. A tax disproportionally distributed among the poor, and middle class. But, he doesn’t want to raise the marginal tax rate on the wealthy. He feels it would be too hard on the fortunate, too burdensome on the wealthy. Plus, the poor don’t have much of a voice in the Statehouse. In fact, they aren’t really represented at all.
And, Ohio is doing well. Buildings are springing up, as quickly as dandelions in the spring. If you keep your gaze high up, looking at the cranes hauling material to the tops, everything looks wonderful. Think only about the people who are going to be working, or living in these wonderful towers and everything is rosy, everything is fine. It makes it easy to forget the problems.
But, look lower, look on the street, and it is a different story. People are living on the street. People who were close to the edge are slipping over.
Their taxes are going up, and they just can’t afford it. People whose dignity has been ground away with the loss of their homes. People whose self-respect was left in an apartment building abandoned and shuttered when they cut funds for government assisted housing. People who lost everything with the last illness or when Medicare cut back on counseling and medication for mental illness. It isn’t quite so beautiful there.
If the state is so strapped maybe they should look at a place where it won’t do so much damage. Maybe they are more worried about funding the next election campaign than the budget? But, who can blame them; politicians need a place to live too. And, they have their priorities, and someone has to pay. Who is a matter of legislation.
It is a sad reality to know that Big Brother isn’t watching; he doesn’t even care.
—
ID: 781735684