Politics and government: Nothing ever changes
It is a rare day, indeed, when partisan politicians speak unkindly of their own ilk.
Regardless of the particular partisanship, both sides tend to stick with their versions of Ronald Reagan’s supposed 11th commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.”
The problem with following this philosophy is that those who are in a position to know of the wrongdoings within their respective party are expected to take a vow of silence for the sake of political victories – and the favors that come with them.
And just for the record, Ronald Reagan spoke ill of many Republicans, including his own vice president, George H.W. Bush. Reagan understood that sometimes it’s the necessary tack for the greater good. In other words, each party ought to occasionally cleanse itself.
As Sen. Lamar Alexander writes about the recent passing of Sen. Howard Baker: “In 1973 came the Watergate hearings, and the most famous words were Howard Baker’s: ‘What did the president know and when did he know it?’”
Let’s remember that this was a Republican senator challenging a Republican president in search of the truth.
Sadly, today’s political rhetoric is as partisan as ever. Maybe even more so. You’d think, as a 21st century civilization, we’d have learned by now. We have not.
Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) recently found out that going against the current administration has its risks. For speaking out against the Obama administration’s handling of the border crisis, Rep. Cuellar said he received a phone call from someone at the White House advising him to tone it down.
Rational discussion on the serious issues of the day – should it go against one political persuasion or the other – too often is automatically labeled an “attack.”
A reasonably intelligent contributor to this newspaper’s online comments quite often inserts the word “attack,” when someone offers an opinion contrary to his.
It’s OK to disagree. People who disagree can do so without “attacking.”
As the first ambassador of the American republic, John Adams said to King George III: “I shall esteem myself the happiest of men if I can be instrumental in restoring the confidence and affection or, in better words, the good old nature and the old good humor, between peoples who, though separated by an ocean and under different governments, have nonetheless the same language, a similar religion and kindred blood.”
Of course, looking back, that didn’t work out so well, either.
Maybe “attacking” is simply human nature. Just look at how the community organizer’s hometown celebrated Independence Day 2014. More than 80 people shot and 14 killed in Chicago over the weekend. Now, that’s attacking.
If we are ever going to move beyond the attacks – be they political or homicidal – each side is going to have to clean his own house at the local, state and federal levels.
Until then, nothing changes. Nothing ever changes.
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Ohio's surplus and cuts
in Local Government Funding
Last week’s Hannah Report (see www.hannah.com) is a real eye-opener for those entrusted with county, village and township governments.
The July 2 report states:
“The (Ohio) Office of Budget and Management announced that the state ended FY14 on June 30 with a nearly $800 million surplus because of revenues exceeding estimates and state spending being kept below projections.
“OBM Director Tim Keen said that the actual surplus will be determined later this month once the FY15 revenue revisions are finalized. The same holds for determining the under-spending in FY14, although he stressed it will total “in the $800 million range ... but likely not more than $800 million.”
He added that no deposit was required to the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund this year because, with revenues less in FY14 than FY13, the fund currently stands at its statutory limit. Asked if the administration is considering requesting that ceiling be raised, Keen said he believes 5 percent of the General Revenue Fund “is an appropriately sized reserve.”
He added that it is his sense a larger reserve helps “people avoid planning and balancing budgets.” He said it provides a sufficient amount of money to run the state and “buy time” to get the budget in order and deal with whatever challenges come up.
Keen stressed that the state is only six months into the Medicaid expansion and the other Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes, making this reserve “prudent.”
As humorous as all this is, two points deserve taxpayers’ immediate attention:
• 1. The “conservative” Kasich administration has outspent the “liberal” Strickland administration. Period.
• 2. Tim Keen stressed that the state is only six months into the Medicaid expansion and the other Affordable Care Act changes, making this reserve “prudent.” If the Medicaid expansion was greater than sliced bread – as the administration told us – why worry about a “reserve” fund?
We’ve written before about the cuts in Local Government Funding. In fact, Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes has explained it quite well.
As The Highland County Press reported in March of this year, Mr. Rhodes states:
“The present policy of the state of Ohio is to fatten its purse at the expense of local governments. It isn’t surprising that the hefty balances in the ‘rainy day fund’ almost exactly match the amount that has been taken from the local government fund over the past two years.
“This was done by the current administration and a compliant Legislature while encouraging us to tighten our belts with ‘shared services’ and ‘conservative government.’
Or, as one rural county official put it this week: “This top-down starvation policy is extremely short-sighted. We are saying that we are putting our emphasis on attracting businesses and we are letting the support structure those businesses will need to become completely inadequate and dangerously obsolete. Totally nuts.”
Maybe the state should allocate that $800 million surplus back to Ohio’s 88 counties. Highland County’s 17 townships could probably put the $9 million to pretty good use.
Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.