Monday morning musings...
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
Once again, Rob Portman is ahead of the legislative curve.
The current U.S. senator and former Second District congressman from eastern Hamilton County campaign strongly on job retention and creation in last year's race against Lee Fisher. A big part of that campaign was an incentive for employers which called for a one-year payroll tax holiday on all income below $50,000.
Now, the White House is listening.
Last year, President Obama and congressional Republicans agreed on a 2-percent reduction in taxes for employees, but businesses did not get the tax break.
But last week, the Obama administration said it is considering a temporary cut in payroll taxes as a way to save and create and stimulate the nation's economy.
When I asked Sen. Portman during one of his recent stops at PAS Technologies in Hillsboro if he were optimistic about his proposal for a break in payroll taxes, he referenced the reduction for workers' taxes and pledged to continue to work toward a much-needed tax break for employers.
With a national unemployment rate of 9 percent – or higher – the president is hinting at a temporary elimination of the 6.2-percent payroll tax – as championed by Sen. Portman and others in Congress.
While a temporary suspension of the payroll tax probably won't – in and of itself – lead to immediate new hires, it could do a lot to stop the hemorrhaging of jobs, particularly among the nation's small businesses.
Now, will Congress and the president act on this proposal? That's the question.
Writing on the topic for TheHill.com, former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich said: "A cynic might say Republicans are so intent on unseating Obama they’d like the economy to remain in the dumps through Election Day. Many Democrats, meanwhile, don’t want to admit the recovery has stalled — they don’t want to head into the election year sounding downbeat. Another reason for Washington’s inaction is that the unemployed are politically invisible. They don’t make major campaign donations. They don’t lobby Congress. There’s no National Association of Unemployed People."
In other words, small businesses would be wise not to count on any real tax relief anytime soon.
* * *
• Highland County Common Pleas Court/Juvenile and Probate Division Judge Kevin Greer is expected to appoint a new member to the Highland County Board of Developmental Disabilities this week. The judge told The Highland County Press the appointment could be made as early as Monday, June 13.
The new member would replace Gary Boatman, who recently resigned from the board.
Boatman told The Highland County Press he resigned because he needed to concentrate on work, and that his responsibilities with the board were beginning to take time away from that. "It's taking too much time away from work, and that's really all there is to it," Boatman said. "(The board has) been involved in controversy for so many months, and I feel like I needed to step down to concentrate (on work)."
The board recently held a closed-door, executive session with its legal counsel regarding personnel. No action was taken after the meeting.
* * *
• Our friend Bobby Warren, reporting for the Wooster Daily-Record, says there's talk of moving Ohio's presidential primary next year from March to May.
"The completion of the 2010 census might present a challenge to Ohio elections officials because states must adjust their legislative boundaries and congressional district lines to reflect population changes. In order for Ohio to maintain its March 6 primary date, Secretary of State Jon Husted has indicated reapportionment and redistricting must be completed by the first part of September, spokesman Matt McClellan said."
Ohio also will lose two of its 18 congressional seats after redistricting is completed. Republicans hold 13 Congressional seats and Democrats hold five seats.
There's talk of the GOP leadership doing its best to save all 13 Republican seats by placing large Democratic majorities in three districts.
Cleveland area Democrat Rep. Dennis Kucinich is already guessing that he's one of the odd men out. He's talking of moving to another state to run for Congress.
* * *
• A June 12 column by Joe Guillen for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer (http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/06/for_gop_ohio_lawmakers_…) touches on a point known to most journalists, but still a mystery to many of us.
"Ohio legislators make the rules that require government to do the public's business out in the open. But they don't have to play by those rules," Guillen writes.
"Unlike most public bodies, the Legislature is not governed by the Ohio Open Meetings Act, which lists specific conditions for a private session. Open-meeting requirements for the legislature are spelled out elsewhere in state law, which gives lawmakers the luxury of unlimited private meetings with members of their party, known as caucuses, to discuss the budget and any other topic."
Guillen says many of the state lawmakers' more controversial decisions have been made in private. He lists decisions to expand charter schools, privatize the Ohio Lottery and restrict abortion.
"All were added to the budget without public input, and without a paper trail that would show the public who was behind the changes."
"These are people charged with enacting laws that impact everyone. The public should be able to assess the entire process," said Mark Caramanica, freedom of information director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "Let people know and judge for themselves whether a legislator is taking a sincere position or is being influenced."
House Speaker Bill Batchelder, R-Medina, told Guillen he values confidentiality among House Republicans. That's one reason he rarely sends out memos, which are a public record.
"I don't want it part of the public record. That's right," he said. "I believe my people have a right to communicate with me without assuming that it's going to end up on the front of the newspaper. And I think that's right. It's a confidential relationship between leadership."
Guillen adds that Ohio lawmakers "helped guarantee that the inner workings of state government would be kept confidential in 1999, when then-Senate President Richard Finan, a Republican from Hamilton County, inserted language into the state budget bill from a failed bill Batchelder had sponsored. The measure established a 'confidential relationship' between lawmakers and the Legislative Service Commission. As a result, any communication between lawmakers and bill writers is not a public record, nor are drafts of bills. Reporters had relied on the now-shielded records, known as the bill files, to trace input from special interest groups."
In other words, Ohio lawmakers prefer to operate under the policy of "Trust us, we know what's best for you."
* * *
• Lastly, no, to answer the question, I was not invited to the Bilderberg 2011 convention in Switzerland. That was Rory Stewart, thank you. But you can read all about it here: http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/7841….
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
The current U.S. senator and former Second District congressman from eastern Hamilton County campaign strongly on job retention and creation in last year's race against Lee Fisher. A big part of that campaign was an incentive for employers which called for a one-year payroll tax holiday on all income below $50,000.
Now, the White House is listening.
Last year, President Obama and congressional Republicans agreed on a 2-percent reduction in taxes for employees, but businesses did not get the tax break.
But last week, the Obama administration said it is considering a temporary cut in payroll taxes as a way to save and create and stimulate the nation's economy.
When I asked Sen. Portman during one of his recent stops at PAS Technologies in Hillsboro if he were optimistic about his proposal for a break in payroll taxes, he referenced the reduction for workers' taxes and pledged to continue to work toward a much-needed tax break for employers.
With a national unemployment rate of 9 percent – or higher – the president is hinting at a temporary elimination of the 6.2-percent payroll tax – as championed by Sen. Portman and others in Congress.
While a temporary suspension of the payroll tax probably won't – in and of itself – lead to immediate new hires, it could do a lot to stop the hemorrhaging of jobs, particularly among the nation's small businesses.
Now, will Congress and the president act on this proposal? That's the question.
Writing on the topic for TheHill.com, former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich said: "A cynic might say Republicans are so intent on unseating Obama they’d like the economy to remain in the dumps through Election Day. Many Democrats, meanwhile, don’t want to admit the recovery has stalled — they don’t want to head into the election year sounding downbeat. Another reason for Washington’s inaction is that the unemployed are politically invisible. They don’t make major campaign donations. They don’t lobby Congress. There’s no National Association of Unemployed People."
In other words, small businesses would be wise not to count on any real tax relief anytime soon.
* * *
• Highland County Common Pleas Court/Juvenile and Probate Division Judge Kevin Greer is expected to appoint a new member to the Highland County Board of Developmental Disabilities this week. The judge told The Highland County Press the appointment could be made as early as Monday, June 13.
The new member would replace Gary Boatman, who recently resigned from the board.
Boatman told The Highland County Press he resigned because he needed to concentrate on work, and that his responsibilities with the board were beginning to take time away from that. "It's taking too much time away from work, and that's really all there is to it," Boatman said. "(The board has) been involved in controversy for so many months, and I feel like I needed to step down to concentrate (on work)."
The board recently held a closed-door, executive session with its legal counsel regarding personnel. No action was taken after the meeting.
* * *
• Our friend Bobby Warren, reporting for the Wooster Daily-Record, says there's talk of moving Ohio's presidential primary next year from March to May.
"The completion of the 2010 census might present a challenge to Ohio elections officials because states must adjust their legislative boundaries and congressional district lines to reflect population changes. In order for Ohio to maintain its March 6 primary date, Secretary of State Jon Husted has indicated reapportionment and redistricting must be completed by the first part of September, spokesman Matt McClellan said."
Ohio also will lose two of its 18 congressional seats after redistricting is completed. Republicans hold 13 Congressional seats and Democrats hold five seats.
There's talk of the GOP leadership doing its best to save all 13 Republican seats by placing large Democratic majorities in three districts.
Cleveland area Democrat Rep. Dennis Kucinich is already guessing that he's one of the odd men out. He's talking of moving to another state to run for Congress.
* * *
• A June 12 column by Joe Guillen for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer (http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/06/for_gop_ohio_lawmakers_…) touches on a point known to most journalists, but still a mystery to many of us.
"Ohio legislators make the rules that require government to do the public's business out in the open. But they don't have to play by those rules," Guillen writes.
"Unlike most public bodies, the Legislature is not governed by the Ohio Open Meetings Act, which lists specific conditions for a private session. Open-meeting requirements for the legislature are spelled out elsewhere in state law, which gives lawmakers the luxury of unlimited private meetings with members of their party, known as caucuses, to discuss the budget and any other topic."
Guillen says many of the state lawmakers' more controversial decisions have been made in private. He lists decisions to expand charter schools, privatize the Ohio Lottery and restrict abortion.
"All were added to the budget without public input, and without a paper trail that would show the public who was behind the changes."
"These are people charged with enacting laws that impact everyone. The public should be able to assess the entire process," said Mark Caramanica, freedom of information director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "Let people know and judge for themselves whether a legislator is taking a sincere position or is being influenced."
House Speaker Bill Batchelder, R-Medina, told Guillen he values confidentiality among House Republicans. That's one reason he rarely sends out memos, which are a public record.
"I don't want it part of the public record. That's right," he said. "I believe my people have a right to communicate with me without assuming that it's going to end up on the front of the newspaper. And I think that's right. It's a confidential relationship between leadership."
Guillen adds that Ohio lawmakers "helped guarantee that the inner workings of state government would be kept confidential in 1999, when then-Senate President Richard Finan, a Republican from Hamilton County, inserted language into the state budget bill from a failed bill Batchelder had sponsored. The measure established a 'confidential relationship' between lawmakers and the Legislative Service Commission. As a result, any communication between lawmakers and bill writers is not a public record, nor are drafts of bills. Reporters had relied on the now-shielded records, known as the bill files, to trace input from special interest groups."
In other words, Ohio lawmakers prefer to operate under the policy of "Trust us, we know what's best for you."
* * *
• Lastly, no, to answer the question, I was not invited to the Bilderberg 2011 convention in Switzerland. That was Rory Stewart, thank you. But you can read all about it here: http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/7841….
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]