Posted by: Dspisak (IP Logged)
Date: May 10, 2008 09:51AM
Why does the Mahoning Valley seem like it lags 50 years behing the rest of the country and state?
It's because we continue to re-elect the same old tired politicians to Columbus. Term-limits were to bring new blood into government....instead all we did what allow our old blood politicians to play musicial chairs with legistlative jobs.
Mr. Gerberry got term-limited out....Mr. Carano took a government position, Mr. Gerberry went back to Columbus as state rep to replace Mr. Carano.
Now that Mr. Boccheri looks like he will be the next congressman of Stark County, Mr. Gerberry has already been mentioned as to appointed back to the Ohio Senate. As so it goes.
We don't want to support WRTA because people believe they don't need to use the bus and don't want the poor or possible gang members to use the system to get to our retail centers on 224 or Mahoning Ave.
Now as we see the city of Youngstown shrink and gas prices rise, this communtiy will return to what this area looked like during the great depression. Being 49 years old, my parents told me stories of how they couldn't afford cars because of low wages, and had to use mass trnsportation to get to retail centers in downtown Youngstown. History is beginning to repeat itself in the valley.
We will need mass transit to get to retail centers on 224....we do need living wage jobs in the valley. We need new renewable energy companies and manufacturing jobs brought back to this valley that will require blue collar skills to build the mechanical components for renewable energy equipment.
As far as our fear of gangs and increased violence, when we had manufacturing jobs people could go to work, make a living wage, and did not have to commit crime.
Let's bring back that concept to the valley. Let us have renewable manufacturing jobs available so we can tell our youth, "put down the handgun, pick up a chaulk gun, earn a living wage, and help your family incoprporate renewable energy sources to's your family and neighbor's homes to help them save money on soaring energy costs."
That's what my Independent Green Party run for State Representative for the 60th district is all about. You can tell a lot about a country, a city, and a valley on how they help their poor,working, and middle class.
In Friday's Vindicator Editorial Cartoon we see the Myanmar Junta holding up his hand and in the other hand holding a sign reading " No Foreign Aid." That is actually what our current old-time politicians are saying to the rest of the federal, state, and business world.
We don't need or want your help or aid beacuse we fear will lose control of our power base.
The Local Democratic Party that supported the poor, working, and middle class and in return my father grew up and supported this party in the 1930's and 1940's is not that same party that we have today. Today's local Democrats like Bob Hagan support the over 100 lobbyists and Corportate PACS that place money in Hagan's political war chest each year. Since the local Democrats no longer support the poor working, and middle class of the valley, it is time we elect independents and show the local Democratic machine the door.
We wonder why less and less people become active and engaged in the civic duty of voting. It's because the local party bosses decide for us who to support.
Some people have asked if I were elected to the state house what my one vote could do to change things for the better. Well, my one vote in the house may not be able to change things, but my one voice would be outside the state house each week with a microphone or mega phone leading a march around the state house with the poor, working, and middle class demanding living wages jobs, better health care, better school funding, and making Ohio a better place to live and raise our families.
Dennis Spisak-Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th District
campaign site: Http://votespisak.tripod.com
When asked how a candidate's position on a proposal to reduce payday lending interest rates from 391% to 36% would affect their decision at the ballot box, 72% of respondents said they were more likely to support a candidate that favored the measure, compared to 19% that said they were less likely. Fifty-one percent said they were "much more likely," while 11% said they were "much less likely."
On another poll question, 64% of respondents said they viewed the current 391% interest rate as "predatory" and the lower proposed limit should be sufficient to enable lenders to operate. Only 17% said the cap would "hurt the payday lending industry and result in a shortage of loans available to the poor and working people."
Payday lending has already figured as an election issue during the Republican primary for the 35th House District in March. Ron Maag defeated his better-funded opponent John Rabenold, criticizing him on campaign materials as a "lobbyist for Check & Go, a payday lender."
The survey was commissioned by Service Employees International Union, a labor union that is a member of the Ohio Coalition for Responsible Lending, the national firm Benenson Strategy Group queried 1,000 Ohioans statewide that pollsters identified as likely swing voters.
The words "Extra Judicial Procedures","Extraordinary Rendition," the loss of our Habeas Corpus and Magna Carta expectations were enabled by multiple passages of The American Patriot Act.
The alledged victims of the alledged sexual harrassment are adults who can figure out on their own that The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is the agency available - should THEY wish to avail themselves of the legal system without a lynchmob mentality.
On April 3, 2008 several news stories broke centering on a serious fine imposed by The Ohio Elections Commission on David Brennan, a Charter school corporate heavy, known as The White Hat Managment. The fine imposed was to the tune of $5.2 million dollars. Jennifer Brunner AND Mark Dann AND The Ohio Election Commission have been credited with identifying the sleazy money problem in August of 2007. Mark Dann has taken on other well - heeled Charter schools that have devasted our public monies and our children. The above heavy, David Brennan can be found on the list of G.W. Bush campaign contributors at one of the following levels: "Bush Pioneers" or "Bush Rangers." Sorry I can't recall which category Brennan falls under. Please remember that fine can be appealed by David Brenner and his army of attorneys.
Parasitic subprime lenders that plunge our college kids into wallet crushing debt. Mark Dann was on them like a pit bull. I'm positive they wouldn't miss his fangs.
Pathological subprime lenders that are "partying hardily" in spirit in the rubble of our foreclosed homes. They also desire Mark Dann to be gone.
Payday Lenders as shown by their pathetic protests with their hapless victims supporting their antics - I guarantee there will be vile celebrations of the worst kind, should Mark Dann leave office or be put out of office.
The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati would probably want a national holiday in celebration of the day should Mark Dann leaving office or being put out of office. Mark Dann put in many hours of grueling work negotiating and legitimizing the departure of The Christ Hospital from the clutches of The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati.
Casinos - Mark Dann has had a critical role to play in nailing the criminals who lead "Coingate." Do we really think that the Native American casino owners who were burned financially by compadres of Bob Ney, one of the creators of The Help America Vote Act want to rehire Jack Abramhoff or his associates? What about the victims of Coingate who were devastated by the pillaging of The Bureau Of The Workers' Compensation Fund? If Mark Dann leaves for any reason - I'm fairly certain it's "open season" on us little people.
How many dedicated public servants are we prepared to give up and write off like Don Siegelman and Elliot Spitzer?
Just remember - Big Business doesn't put food on the table, doesn't provide basic innoculations and other medical care nor provides quality education for those of us struggling to find daily busfare. Big Business doesn't provide hand - counted Election Ballots.
Neither do Superdelegates, Delegates, The Green Party, The Democratic Party, The Republicans nor Independent Candidates.
Big Business guarantees that our Vice - President and President and others won't be spending their twilight years as residents of The Hague. Only Impeachment Proceedings for our Vice - President and our President will create an atmosphere of hope and TRUST that our global trading partners and others need so we can all prosper.
Not only do we need to retain Mark Dann, but we need to STEP BACK AND LET LADY JUSTICE DO WHAT SHE DOES BEST.
Mark Dann requires our appreciation and gratitude in order to assist us, the citizens of Ohio in our fight against hopelessness. Mark Dann, if you read this - please stay right where you are and continue your activism.
Jane Schiff,
May 8, 2008
George W. Bushmask took to Ohio's streets today to rub elbows with the common man and reflect upon the past five years since his doppleganger declared Mission Accomplished:
Fired up? At least somewhat amused? Either way click here to write a Letter to the Editor today!
In the five years since non-Bushmask declared “Mission Accomplished”:•The U.S. military is strained to the breaking point – our men and women are on their 4th and 5th deployments to Iraq
• Gas prices have doubled
• The national debt has increased at a rate of $1.46 billion per day
• Every family of four in the U.S. has paid $16,500 to finance the Iraq war
The Progress Ohio community knows this. But decisionmakers in Washington have continued to enable Bush’s reckless Iraq policy.
We need your help to spread the message loud and clear: Ohio cannot afford endless war.
Choose as many newspapers as you like, then use our template and personalize your letter.
In just a few minutes you’ll help us frame the message on this fifth anniversary of the day Bush stood aboard an aircraft carrier and declared “Mission Accomplished.”
It’s up to you to get the word out: Ohio cannot afford endless war.
Use Progress Ohio’s SpeakOut tool to write a letter to the editor of your daily newspaper.
On Friday hear the keynote address by Jim Merkel, author of Read More »
April 27, 2008
As we see more and more renewable energy technology and manufacturing coming to Ohio, I continue to raise the question, why is Youngstown always lagging behind?
For 20 years Bob Hagan has served our valley in Columbus and has no accomplishments to show for bringing jobs back to the poor, working, and middle class of the 60th district.
The bottom line is Bob Hagan does not have the leadership abilities to get the job done.
It's time we elect an independent candidate to the state house who will spend less time fighting with Republicans and spend more time delivering solutions to industry challenges and jobs for the 60th district.
As the independent candidate for State Representative, I pledge to work with an innovative infrastructure of technology, research and development, transportation infrastructure, and funding, to afford companies a competitive advantage in the evolving marketplace of renewable energy and offer forward thinking companies an innovative and pro-business environment in which to succeed for years to come.
For many companies, the bridge between research and commercialization has proven challenging. I will help accelerate this phase by providing clients direct access to cutting edge research at Ohio universities and other prime research facilities. We need to work with businesses and their research partners each step of the way, providing industry-specific advice, industrial process, and market knowledge.
Every effort must be made to connect qualified clients with funding opportunities through incentives, matching research grants, low interest loans, and access to potential investors via angel investor networks and venture capitalist organizations. Also, pairing proposed production facilities with end users such as military bases or industrial plants
I will also work in matching clients with other companies, growers, government agencies and suppliers to form commercially successful collaborations. Each situation brings unique a unique set of needs. These variables may include real estate, labor pool, transportation or access to airports, railyards, industrial parks, or other needs.
This is the type of leadership Bob Hagan has failed to deliver to the 60th district.
It's time for a change. If not now, when?
Dennis Spisak-Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th District
Campaign site: Http:// votespisak.tripod.com
Visit our links to renewable energy and progressive works programs
The real incomes of middle-class families grew more than twice as fast under Democratic presidents as they did under Republican presidents. Even more remarkable, the real incomes of working-poor families (at the 20th percentile of the income distribution) grew six times as fast when Democrats held the White House.
Slate puts McCain's financial disclosure forms through the paces:
It's fair to say that the Republican nominee has as little hands-on experience with household finance as anyone ever elected president....
Overall, the McCains are a stellar portrait of Republican wealth: They've inherited money and managed it well while generating commissions for stock brokers and real-estate agents.
April 25, 2008
CnnMoney.com has now renamed Youngstown as the "Incredible Shrinking City." But when Governor Strickland signs into law next week Ohio's New Energy Bill Youngstown can quickly see re-growth with the creation of a new manufacturing industry in Ohio -- renewable energy. Wind turbine installers have all but promised to rush into the Buckeye state because utilities here will be required to begin generating a portion of their power with wind, solar and other renewable technologies. And by sending new leadership to Columbus and replacing non-productive Bob Hagan in the state house with an Independent Green Party State Representative, the 60th district can be placing "sold" signs in yards instead of paying people to move out of parts of the city.
As the Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative, I have made it one of my main campaign issues that renewable energy companies can rebuild our valley. Such companies and manufacturers are already producing job growth across the country and our state, and as the new representative in Columbus I will be able to work with private investors, green corporations, and federal grants to bring blue-collar and high tech green collar jobs to the 60th district. Youngstown
As a Green Party Member, we advocated renewable energy as well as the manufacturers of wind turbines and solar equipment who pushed Strickland to live up to his campaign rhetoric that such technologies could create a new industry in job-starved Ohio. What we won was a mandate requiring that 12.5 percent of the power sold in Ohio come from renewable technologies by 2025 and -- thanks to the House -- a year-by-year step-up or benchmark that must be met.
The greens also won a "carve-out" for solar power. The bill requires 0.5 percent of the renewable power to come from solar systems. The House put that number at 1 percent but had to back it down at the request of the Senate.
The House also kept in language creating energy efficiency mandates that will require each utility to show over the next 17 years that it has helped its customers reduce their power consumption by a total of 22 percent -- reducing the need for a costly new power plant.
Youngstown has been given a chance to become the Green Energy Manufacturing Giant for the 21st Century. Now it's time to put an Independent Green Party State Representative in Columbus to help this program along. It's time to bring Bob Hagan with all his fossil fuel lobbyist and PAC money home.
The Future for Youngstown is Green. If not now, when?
Dennis Spisak-Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th District
Campaign site: Http://votespisak.tripod.com
Check out our links to progressive job programs and renewable energy jobs for the valley.
Following up on this previous post, here's Progressive Media USA take on McCain in New Orleans:
Watch it:
April 24, 2008
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported earlier this month that Ohio School Districts must continue to rely on more local property taxes to operate on as the state share of funding education continues to drop, even under a Democratic Governor.
In the 2005-06 school year, more than half (50.4 percent) of all education revenue in Ohio came from local sources, chiefly property taxes, according to a U.S. Census report released this week. This is the third time in four years the local burden has increased in Ohio, while the state's share has shrunk four consecutive years, to 42.3 percent, the Cincinnati Enquirer said. Nationally, local revenues make up 44.4 percent of school budgets. States contribute an average of 46.6 percent. The Federal Government funds roughly 9% of school costs.
Jim Betts, a spokesman for the Campaign for Ohio's Future, a coalition that wants to change school funding, said it's proof that Ohio's school funding system, repeatedly ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court, isn't getting better.
"It's significant when it becomes a trend," Betts said.
Critics of Ohio's school funding system blame education's dependence on local taxes for creating vast inequities among districts.
In addition, last month Governor Strickland announced that the Ohio Department of Education had to cut 50 million dollars out of their budget, most cuts concerning state money going to the County Educational Service Centers. As a board member for the Struthers City Schools, Last month I received the ESC bill for 2009 for ESC services for the Struthers City Schools.... last year the bill was $419,000...next year the bill is $553,000. So because state reps and state senators can't work together to fix state funding for schools, something mandated by the Ohio Supreme Court 10 years ago, the bills get pushed down to the local boards of education...which means we must pay the increase, cut costs in other services, or ask the local taxpayers to ante up with more money for local levies. Your school board is receiving the same fee increase this month as well.
That's why we need independent state representatives to speak for the people and quit playing political football regarding state funding of education. The 2 major parties will not fix this program before the November election. Last moth saw the lowest percentage of school levies passed in the state for the last couple of years.
Let's send a state representative to Columbus who will do what's right for the taxpayers and poor and working class in the valley, not the over 100 lobbyists and PACS who contributed to Bob Hagan's political campaign fund last year.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled over 10 years ago that state funding of education in Ohio was unconstitutional. When will State Representatives like Bob Hagan ever get around to fixing the funding formula?
Dennis Spisak-Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th District
Campaign site: Http://votespisak.tripod.com
Stumbled across themiddleclass.org today, a nicely done site today that grades your Congressmen's record on a bucketful of issues loosely related to the economic interest of the non-super wealthy.
The biggest surprise in Ohio is Steve LaTourette (R), who after scoring back to back F's in '04 & '05 is now on pace for his second B. Coincidence or is his feeling a little heat back home?
They also have a widget maker, if that's your thing.
April 23, 2008
Bob Hagan is the real reason Youngstown is left behind when it comes to bringing new renewable energy companies and jobs to the 60th district. It's not clouds, but no vision or effort on the part of Bob Hagan to secure the necessary leadership abilities to get the job done.
Bob Hagan has been in Columbus for 20 years and can't get a grant for renewable energy...yet a Toledo senator can:
This in via email from the office of District 2 Ohio Senator Mark Wagoner:
WAGONER ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $1.2 MILLION IN STATE GRANTS TO SUPPORT ADVANCED ENERGY RESEARCH IN OHIO
Wagoner: Employers in Lucas County among companies with potential to make Ohio a leader in fuel cells, solar energy
Columbus - State Senator Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo) today announced that the State Controlling Board has approved the release of more than $1.2 million in state grants to two organizations within the 2nd Senate District. The funds, made possible through the state's Third Frontier Program, will support these groups in their efforts to develop and produce advanced energy technology in Ohio. The hope, according to Wagoner, is to advance Ohio's position as leader in the budding fuel cell and solar power industries.
Among the grants approved today, Xunlight 26 Solar, LLC, was awarded $977,924 from the state's Advanced Energy Program to support its work in developing technology to produce next generation solar technology. Xunlight is collaborating with the University of Toledo and Akron Polymer Systems on this project, which incorporates three technologies developed in Ohio directly dealing with solar energy.
The University of Toledo was also awarded $250,000 to advance its collaboration with another company on the development of a cellulosic biomass fermentation process, which is a new method for producing ethanol. The project seeks to incorporate two patented technologies that are currently licensed to SuGanit Systems.
According to Wagoner, the work at Xunlight and the University of Toledo in the area of solar energy and bio-fuels is important to Ohio not only because of their potential as a domestic source of energy, but also because the technology these companies are developing could lead to increased manufacturing and more jobs in Ohio.
"The success companies like Xunlight and education institutions like the University of Toledo have had in developing alternative energy sources is a testament to the ingenuity and know how of the workforce in our region," Wagoner stated. "The investment we are making today will only further advance these achievements by providing these organizations the capital and support necessary to move forward."
Bob Hagan has spent 20 unproductive years in Columbus representing Youngstown. It's time to bring him home!
It's time to bring grants,companies, and jobs to the Mahoning Valley. I will see that Youngstown does not continue to be passed by cities like Toledo, Bowling Green, Athens, and even the small rural areas of Ohio.
Dennis Spisak-Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th District
Campaign Site: Http://votespisak.tripod.com
Visit our link on renewable energy jobs for the valley and Progressive Works Programs.
"There was one thing he did not mention during his response: the deficit nearly tripled during the Reagan presidency, partly due to tax cuts and increases in military spending."
Child's Pay
Republican John McCain will say today in his speech in Youngstown that the hard-hit steel towns of Ohio can rebound like his own presidential campaign did last year.
McCain will describe how his White House bid was declared dead last summer as it hemorrhaged staff and ran out of money. He climbed back to win the New Hampshire primary in January and now is the Republican nominee-in-waiting.
"You've been written off a few times yourselves, in the competition of the market," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Tuesday at Youngstown State University in Ohio.
"You know how it feels to hear that good things are happening in the American economy, they're just not happening to you."
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has a prescription for the country’s gas woes, proposing to put the 18.4 cent federal gas tax on a three-month hiatus between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Wired reports:
McCain's proposal could cost the government some $9 billion dollars - and more than 300,000 jobs.The tax supports the federal Highway Trust Fund, which finances road projects nationwide and is already facing a $3.4 billion shortfall, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials says. The American Society of Civil Engineers says every dollar invested in highway infrastructure generates $5.40 in economic benefits through reduced delays, improved safety and lower vehicle operating costs. And the federal transportation department says every $1 billion in highway spending creates 34,779 jobs.
A McCain spokesman told MSNBC the senator favors transferring money from the general fund to make up for the lost gas tax revenue. That, of course, would add to the deficit.
Many economists and environmentalists also question the wisdom - and efficacy - of suspending or cutting gas taxes. They argue it simply leads to more gasoline consumption - which increases demand (and therefore prices) while exacerbating C02 emissions.
“You don’t want to stimulate consumption,” Lawrence Goldstein, an economist at the Energy Policy Research Foundation, told the New York Times. “The signal you want to send is the opposite one. Politicians should say that conservation is where people’s mindset ought to be.”
Instead of rolling back the tax, Goldstein says, the government ought to help low-income Americans pay for gasoline. That would be cheaper and benefit those who need it most.
For these reasons and others, proposals like McCain's haven't gained much traction in recent years. Lawmakers have tried, and failed at least six times since 2000 to roll back the gas tax, and Bob Dole suggested it during his presidential run 12 years ago.
As we know, it didn't help Dole win. In fact, he dropped the idea a few months later when he offered a different economic plan.
What’s different this time however, is the spin and the reality.
Spin: Outlining his proposal, Senator McCain said last Tuesday, “The effect will take a few dollars off the price of a tank of gas every time a family, a farmer, or trucker stops to fill up.”
Reality: Most of the tax break will go to corporations, not families. Oil companies and their executives are already doing better than ever. Two years ago, Lee Raymond, former CEO of Exxon was given a severance package worth upwards of $400 million after leading the company to its highest ever recorded profit in 2006 of $36 billion. The previous year, his salary and bonus was a combined: $69.7 million or $190,915 a day. After just his first year on the job, current Exxon CEO, Rex Tillerson oversaw another record profit year for the company of $40 billion, earning him $21.7 million or $59,452 a day.
Spin: McCain told CNBC this past Tuesday, “I think high gas taxes are a regressive tax. The people who drive the furthest are the lowest income Americans. It is incredibly regressive. Where’s the fairness there?”
Reality: Not only do families who make less, drive less, they do not consume more gasoline nor do they spend more on gasoline. An analysis of the latest available data reveals that in fact, Senator McCain’s “gas-tax holiday” idea is itself regressive. The more a family earns, the more they drive, and the more a higher-earning household would save under Senator McCain’s plan.
The Center for American Progress contibuted to this story.
McCain yesterday on Bloomberg News: “You could make an argument that there's been great progress economically over that period of time [the last seven years]."
The last seven years, a recap:
Gas prices
2001 $1.37
2008 $3.45
U.S. Trade Deficit
2001 $380 Billion
2008 $759 Billion
Workers Covered By Employer-Based Health Insurance
2001 64.2 %
2008 59.7 %
Strength Of U.S. Dollar
2001 1.07 Euros per dollar
2008 0.68 Euros per dollar
Crude Oil Prices Per Barrel
2001 $29.59
2008 $116
Median Household Income
2001 $49,163
2008 $48,201
Budget: Deficit/Surplus
2001 $431 Billion Surplus Over The Previous 3 Budget Years
2008 $734 Billion Deficit Over The Previous 3 Budget Years
National Debt
2001 $5.7 Trillion
2008 $9.2 Trillion
Consumer Credit Debt
2001 $7.65 Trillion
2008 $12.8 Trillion
Real GDP Growth
2001 4.09% Over Prior 8 Years
2008 2.65% Over Prior 7 Years
Americans in Poverty
2001 31.6 Million
2008 36.5 Million
Annual Total Health Insurance Premium Cost
2001 $6,230 Per Family
2008 $12,106 Per Family
Unemployment Rates
2001 4.2 %
2008 4.8 %
Uninsured Under 65
2001 39 Million
2008 47 Million
Average Cost Of A Prescription Drug
$47.54
$68.26
Electricity
2001 $914 Per Year
2008 $1,108 Per Year
Home Heating Oil Prices
2001 $1.40
2008 $3.69
Groceries
2001 $3,021 Per Year
2008 $3,417 Per Year
Average Tuition At Private College
2001 $16,211
2008 $23,712
Personal Savings Rate
2001 +2.3%
2008 -0.5%
Dramatically Among Full-Time Workers
High-quality jobs not immune to unraveling of employer-based system
April 18, 2008
Why do we need the Health Care For All Ohioans Act? Employer-provided health insurance is eroding!
Tighten your grip, because holding on to health care is getting much harder, even if you have a good job, and a good education, and especially if you are a full-time worker of prime working age.
"No one is immune to the slow unraveling of the employer-based health insurance system," said Heidi Shierholz, EPI economist and co-author of the report A Decade of Decline: The Erosion of Employer-Provided Health Care in the United States and California, 1995-2006, released yesterday by the Economic Policy Institute.
Overall, about 6.4 million fewer workers had employer-provided health insurance in 2006 than in 2000. This trend contrasts with the time period between 1995 and 2000, when the share of workers covered by their employers increased nationally, from 49.6
percent to 51.1 percent.
This dramatic loss of employer provided health insurance since 2000 is not simply driven by the loss of high-quality jobs, such as those in the manufacturing sector. Rather, it is caused by the significant decline in employers providing coverage within existing jobs across the board. The burden of these employer cuts is not carried by part-time or
marginal workers. Rather, the most dramatic loss is among workers with the strongest connection to the labor force.
"The kind of declines our research uncovered can't be fixed with a band-aid approach,"said EPI senior economist Jared Bernstein, and the report's co-author. "The solution must involve a broadly shared, national approach where employers, employees, and
government all play a part."
Among the main findings of the report are:
· The dramatic drop in employer-provided coverage is caused by employers cutting coverage within existing jobs, rather than the shifting of jobs from high-coverage industries like manufacturing to lower-coverage industries.
· Coverage declined for workers across the entire age and education spectrum.
The national trends were mirrored in developments in California, even though California differs significantly from the national profile in its racial, ethnic and immigration makeup. Despite these differences, virtually all California groups made gains in employer coverage in the late 1990s, gains that were more than wiped out in the 2000s.
As the Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative for the 60th District, this is the exact reason why I support the Health Care for All Ohioans Act.
Ohio Economy Needs Small Business and Small Business Needs Single-Payer Health Coverage!
Small business and the self-employed are driving Ohio's growing service economy to everyone's advantage, providing jobs for their communities, paying wages to their neighbors, and creating income and tax revenues that stay in the local area. Our economy needs these small businesses to help generate the recovery from the continued disastrous loss of our manufacturing base. The single largest obstacle to the success of small business operators is the prohibitive cost of providing health care coverage for themselves and their employees, and the inability to gauge future costs. Competitive wages, safe and reasonable working conditions and health care coverage are central to mutually beneficial relationships between employers and employees. These relationships were typical of collective bargaining between unions and companies, and are once again possible on a broader scale thanks to the Health Care for All Ohioans Act.
At the root of successful employer/employee cooperation is the elimination of adversarial conditions that pit workers against owners, as is the situation with rising, unaffordable health care costs, currently the main point of contention in every bargaining situation. For the self-employed, who are providing health care coverage for themselves and their families without the benefit of real collectives, The Health Care for All Ohioans Act provides immediate relief by creating access to comprehensive, affordable healthcare with a fixed, fair, progressive gross receipts tax. For businesses that primarily generate their receipts through service labor provided, the savings are dramatic. For many the resulting savings can then be reinvested in the business, increasing revenue and creating jobs with no increase in costs over that of privately provided for-profit coverage. For small businesses with payrolls, in addition to the gross receipts tax, the funding formula of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act provides for an affordable, fixed, progressive employer-paid payroll tax that increases only as payrolls increase. Successful businessmen and women know that increased revenues and increased payrolls can result in increased profits.
We have dug the healthcare hole very deep, the solution will be expensive and no one wants cheap healthcare anyway, only accessible, affordable healthcare coverage. It is time for bold, innovative steps to solve this problem that will affect every one of us eventually. For the first time businesses will have the opportunity to determine their future healthcare costs due to the fixed rates of the funding formula. Ask a business person if they would support a plan that would allow them to project their healthcare costs for the next five years, even taking into account possible increased initial cost. The answer you will get is a resounding, YES! Businesses prefer steady financial forecasts, workers prefer job security and job creation to day-to-day employment, and all parties prefer a mutually beneficial, respectful relationship. Predictable healthcare costs encourage business to grow, workers to thrive and collective bargaining to be successful. The Health Care for All Ohioans Act is a winner for us all.
The Formula to Remember :
Healthcare Savings=Job Creation=Increased Revenues=Increased Wages=Increased Production=Increased Profits=increased tax revenues. Add Them All Together = Increased Wellness….Health Care for All Ohioans!
Bob Hagan takes money from insurance lobbyists and PACS so he will do nothing when your employer health coverage collapses. It's time to elect a state representative who will say no to health care lobbyists and PAC donations and will support the Health Care for all Ohioans Act to safe guard all Ohioans when it come to health care coverage.
Dennis Spisak-Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th district
Campaign web site: Http://votespisak.tripod.com
Visit our link to health care and progressive job programs.
...revealing the icky, gooey details beneath:
McCain's Plan for Working Class Offers Plenty for Corporate World
Sen. John McCain yesterday offered sweeping rhetoric about the economic plight of working-class America, even as he spelled out a tax and spending agenda whose benefits are aimed squarely at spurring business and corporate growth.
McCain Reverses Position to Support Bush Tax Cuts New Plan Includes Billions in Breaks
John McCain famously opposed President Bush's tax cuts a few years ago, saying they would irresponsibly swell the budget deficit. Now the Arizona senator not only supports extending those cuts indefinitely, he is backing more than $200 billion a year in new breaks.
Johnny-Come-Lately
There's no way John McCain will succeed in selling his atrociously conceived, wildly irresponsible tax plan to the American people. So he'll probably change course--again.
Posts
The McCain-picked leader of the Republican national conventi...
http://www.eac.gov/News/press/eac-picks-d-c-elections-direct...
The Republican party platform has a strict anti-abortion pol...
The Air Force is requesting $59 million of our tax money to ...
Did you know--Of over 170 countries, the U.S. is one of onl...
