Skirting the Laws in Pants

Have you ever heard of earmarks?  You ever hear of pork barrel spending?  They're the same thing, it just every few years the media change the name of the practice so that most people don't realize what it means.  Earmarks are when someone in political power take tax payers' money and give it to a company or other organization, usually for political favors.

Because of most of these organizations are for-profit and should be bringing in enough money that they should be  paying for themselves and the earmarks (your money) is almost always some sort of payback.  So lets make it really hard for for-profit companies to get this money and potential political favor?  Some of our representative did. Of course some those same representative the next day went out and started giving money to non-profit companies.  But wait, the non-profit companies were for-profit companies the day before.

The first person take advantage of this loophole was Ohio congress woman Marcy Kapter to Victoria Kurtz of the Great Lakes Research Center.  Of course at the exact same address is Ms. Kurtz' sister's business TeamIST. Both have the same executive staff.  So all of these ladies have went out of their way to funnel money to themselves.  I wonder how much the TeamIST has contributed to Marcy's campaigns in the past?  A better question is how much of the cash to the research center are going to go to Marcy's campaign?

Ohio Could Get More Jobs By Giving Out Less Money

Right now most of Ohio, especially northwest Ohio can only get new businesses here one: pay them.  Recently we just approved a $13 million dollar loan to help build a solar panel start up.  This is on top of another $5 million dollar loan.  This is a low interest loan that can be defaulted on the second the solar energy craze goes south, as in sending manufacturing to Mexico.

So how do we get more businesses to Ohio without paying them?  Ohio need to go on a diet.  We need to get ride of the sugary tax goodness and starchy carbs or red tape.  We have some of the highest tax rates of the state and the highest unemployment.  In Toledo the mayor can stop any building project for up to six months if he doesn't like your name (see the United Way project).  It take 10 permits to get approvals to fix your windows and paint your building.  And they wonder my we have all our problems?

Why would a business come here unless we make it easier and cheaper for businesses to come here? The only reason Perrysburg is getting the new businesses is because they did just what I suggested.  Now if the rest of Ohio could get the hint and cut back.