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Joe
Uecker
State
Representative
04/07/07
State Budget no longer a “hand-up” but
rather back to being a “hand-out”.
It has now been almost three weeks since the Governor
submitted his two-year state budget and I’ve had a little
more time to break down the $2.5 billion spending bill. I
was at first hopeful from the Governor’s State of the
State address that this was going to be a moderate or at
least “centered” budget.
I keep finding glaring problems in this proposed budget.
Two years ago, we passed a budget bill that claimed the
lowest growth in many decades. I was excited when
Governor Strickland announced that his budget was even
lower. However… he didn’t mention that he planned to do
this by using the $1 billion “rainy day fund” that every
responsible government agency sets aside to cover
shortfalls and emergencies. We had set aside that amount
by under-spending our budgeted tax dollars as well as
setting aside unanticipated increases in tax revenues.
I was pleased that two years ago we had created a budget
that created programs to help people get back to work.
There are programs to give credits to companies that will
help re-train workers so they are more productive for Ohio
businesses. Ohio has one of the most successful “Welfare
to Work” programs in the country. Governor Strickland
proposes to remove a lot of the work requirements out of
state law and put this authority into the hands of
bureaucrats he has put into positions of power (and who
complained about “pay to play?!). It looks like we are
going back to the old welfare system in Ohio. We should be
offering a “hand-up” and not a “hand-out”.
The Governor has also announced doing away with the
“College Choice Grant Program”. Many of you reading this
has sons and daughters going to college with help from
this program. Two years ago, our state budget increased
Ohio’s College Choice Grants program to help Ohio’s high
school graduates continue their education at the many Ohio
colleges. It was our intention to increase incentives to
try to keep Ohio college students in both public and
private colleges, in Ohio. It is as if the Governor is
re-enforcing incentives to get our children to go to out
of state colleges instead of staying here in Ohio.
In my last article I mentioned that the Governor wants to
pay the health insurance for any family that whose annual
income is up to 300% of the poverty index. I stated that
for a family of four that is $62,000 per year! Well, now
I find that if you are willing to pay a co-pay amount,
then the state will pay the health insurance premium for a
family of four making $104,000! Can anyone tell me why
working Ohioans should pay the health insurance premium
for anyone making that kind of annual income? Does it
sound to you like things are getting a little out of
hand? Well, hang on, it gets worse.
Is anyone else out there tired of paying the rising cost
of gasoline? Well, Governor Strickland is proposing that
the state let expire a credit given to gasoline
distributors (note this does NOT mean “big oil” but rather
the local distribution companies) who pay a state tax
every time fuel changes hands. Sometimes this amounts to
3 to 4 exchanges. By letting this credit expire in July of
this year, the Governor hopes to increase his spending
bill by well over $100 million! By the way, guess who’s
going to be paying for this increase in taxes? You
guessed it – we are. But the great part is the Governor
will be able to honestly say that he didn’t “increase”
taxes! He merely threatened to veto any bill that
attempted to continue the tax credit to the local
companies. Do you want to know who this really helps
out? Big oil! (again – pay to play?)
Lastly, many of you know that I am a fervent supporter of
“Right to Life”. I am also on the board of directors for
the “Pregnancy Center of Clermont” in Amelia that offers
services for crisis pregnancies. So you can see why I am
very concerned about Governor Strickland’s decision to
eliminate all funding for abstinence education. Our area
already has one of the highest rates of unwed mother
births in the state. I believe that this sends the wrong
message to our teenagers. I will be taking a personal
interest in trying to reinstate this funding.
Speaking of the Pregnancy Center of Clermont, coming up
this May 5th is our annual “Walk for Life”
campaign. You will see teens as well as adults coming to
your door asking for pledges. Please consider supporting
this very worthwhile endeavor. If you are interested in
getting involved with the walk, either as an individual or
as a church group, neighborhood group or youth group,
please give them a call at the Center at 753-7677.
As always, if you would like to comment about this article
or any state issue, please feel free to give me a call
(614-466-8134) or write me an email (Joe@JoeUecker.com).
You can also check out my website for other articles I
have written (www.JoeUecker.com).
Joe
Uecker
State
Representative
Ohio’s
66 District
Representing
Batavia, Goshen, Miami and Union Townships as well as the
Cities of Loveland and Milford and the Villages of Batavia
and Amelia.
Columbus Phone:
614-466-8134
Local Phone:
513-532-0912
Email:
Joe@JoeUecker.com
Website:
http://JoeUecker.com |
