Recharge Ohio just released a statement from John Kasich responding to the Ohio Governor’s State of the State address today:
COLUMBUS, Ohio – At this time when Ohio’s economy is in a death spiral and losing tens of thousands of jobs, it is concerning that the Governor spent less than 10% of his State of the State speech laying out his plans to turn the economy around and create more jobs in this state.
His solution for the state’s economic crises relies on a one-time federal bailout, rehashed state tax credits and “optimism”, rather than a new business plan that provides incentives for economic growth and job creation.
It is ironic that the Governor opened his speech talking about the construction of Ohio Stadium after World War I. Today Ohio Stadium could be more than sold out with those who have lost their jobs under the Governor’s watch.
Our unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in 22 years, and we’ve lost 111,600 jobs in the last two years. 13.2% of Ohioans live in poverty and nearly 1 in 10 Ohioans now receive food stamps. Ohio ranks 48th in per-capita personal income growth and almost 7,000 young people left the state last year.
Ohio needs to find new and innovative ways to stimulate and sustain job creation. Unfortunately there was no new vision in the Governor’s speech for moving Ohio ahead in this area.
The bottom line is that Ohioans deserve leadership that will lower taxes, unburden Ohio businesses from unnecessary regulation and reward those who invest in innovative new ideas to create new jobs.
He couldn’t have said it any better. While Kasich isn’t providing specifics for how to accomplish his goals, it’s important to note that he actually understands what ills Ohio. I’m looking forward to hearing his plans over the coming months. It’s refreshing to know we have the potential to have someone leading Ohio who understands the role of government and how to make the Buckeye State great again.
Please visit the Recharge Ohio website. Sign up for updates, donate what you can and get your friends involved. While Kasich is doing all the right things, he needs to know he will have the support, financial and otherwise, to be competitive before he takes Strickland head-on.
Of course, it also would be nice to have a Governor that doesn’t put Gordon Gee to sleep in the middle of a speech.