Stop NEOSCC's Regionalism Planning Efforts in Northeast Ohio

Efforts are being made right now to combine the 12 Northeast Ohio counties (Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Portage, Summit, Trumbull, Mahoning, Medina, Wayne, Loraine and Stark) into one region overseen by appointed (unelected) councils.... Once appointed, taxpayers are unable to remove these councils through elections. These councils will control land use, housing, transportation, water and energy and we need your help to resist regionalism in Northeast Ohio.

This petition is specifically targeting NEOSCC and their current efforts to force regionalism on us here in Northeast Ohio.  This is Agenda 21, this is the same thing that happened in Des Moines that Dave Frost spoke to us about during his presentation last year, and so far they are on target to start implementing the plan beginning 2014.  We need to act fast if we have any hope of stopping this as we are quickly nearing the end of their planning phase.

We (Dave Frost, Skip Claypool, Bev Goldstein, Loisirene Bernhardt, Patty Gascoyne, and I) are planning a forum in August (date and location to be announced soon) where we will directly confront NEOSCC, the four Metropolitan Planning Organizations in NE Ohio, and elected officials from these 12 targeted counties.  At www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/stopneoscc, not only can you sign the petition but you can also make a donation if you would like to help us fund the forum (please!), including room rental fee (the facility can accommodate up to 600 people), content development, printed materials, etc.  This is the definition of grassroots effort, and without funding help, the costs associated with the forum will be coming directly out of our skinny little pockets.

At the forum we will have a presentation bringing to light the real dangers of Regionalism, which will include Agenda 21, and we will be providing each NEOSCC board member, MPO board member, and elected official a copy of this petition and all the signatures we are able to collect.  We hope to be joined by hundreds of our fellow patriots so not only will they see the petition signatures, but they will have to look hundreds of us in the eye.  There is strength in numbers and we need to show them just how many of us know what they're doing and are willing to stand against it.  We will announce details of the forum as soon as we have confirmed the date and location and hope to see everyone there!

They are bragging that they have had 589 participants at their workshops (not all in agreement I will point out), and somehow trying to claim that those people who participated are a representative cross-section of the over 4,000,000 residents of the 12 NE Ohio counties, and therefore they have the support of the citizens for their regional plan.  Well, we are hoping to gather so many signatures that we blow their 589 number out of the water!  One of the major themes with implementing Agenda 21 is that it has to appear to be a collaborative effort with the citizens, which is why this petition and forum are so important.  We want to make it known, under no uncertain terms, that they do not have the blessing of the people in Northeast Ohio and if they are going to push it, they are knowingly doing so without our consent.

This IS our opportunity to unite as freedom loving Americans, regardless of what group we belong to and even, dare I say, what political party we are affiliated.  This is truly a bipartisan (multi-partisan?) issue against which we can all unite. If you care about individual freedom, your right to own property, your right to decide where you live, in what kind of home, on how much land, please sign our petition, make a donation if you can, then forward this to everyone you know who also cares about these things, republican, democrat, independent, blue, red, purple, orange, etc....

We need your help, Northeast Ohio needs your help!

Guest Post

COMMENTARY

The flaws in Kasich's tax plan

BY MATT MAYER

As a conservative, I love tax cuts. Lower taxes are conducive to long-term economic growth. Because of significant growth in the size of government, Ohio's state and local tax burden has been among the highest in America for too long. Our state's net job growth over the past 22 years ranks as the nation's 47th worst (we rank 20th since 2010, but things are getting worse).

Gov. John Kasich's new tax plan does not appear to increase taxes on Ohioans. He proposes to reduce state income taxes by a dollar for every dollar in new taxes paid by the energy industry. Setting aside his rebuke of out-of-state companies and shareholders -- the very entities he wants to invest more in the state -- not raising taxes is a good thing for Ohioans.

On closer examination, however, the governor's plan reveals fundamental flaws. The proposal continues to ignore the elephant in the room: government spending. The real problem in Ohio, and America, is that government spending has outpaced inflation and economic growth.

Shifting tax burdens from individuals to the companies they work for may change the source of the revenue brought into government. But it utterly fails to tackle the spending side of the ledger. Governor Kasich's tax plan confirms that he accepts the status quo size of state government. Otherwise, he would reduce government to pay for the income-tax cut. His first budget actually increased spending by the state's general revenue fund.

Between 1990 and 2013, Ohio's general revenue-fund expenditures will have exploded by 148 percent, or 44 percent after inflation. Had state government "only" grown by the rate of inflation plus population growth, those expenditures would be less than $22 billion a year, compared with the $28 billion in the 2012-2013 budget. That is a lot of unjustified government growth.

Conservative politicians typically have adopted a "starve the beast" mentality toward government: Reduce revenue via tax cuts, and the government will be forced to shrink. Unfortunately, history proves that politicians are adept at finding taxes and fees elsewhere to feed government. With no net tax cut, Mr. Kasich's plan ensures that taxes will remain high to cover government spending.

The governor's view that what he calls Ohio's "disproportionately low" tax on the energy industry presents him a windfall opportunity to increase taxes is odd for a conservative. For once, Ohio has a competitive tax advantage over other states, making it more attractive to energy-industry growth.  That growth will provide the windfall in jobs and taxes. Most governors who seek to increase their states' competitiveness in attracting an industry move to lower tax burdens, not increase them.

No matter the political spin, raising taxes on the energy industry will have a negative impact on Ohio's competitiveness and job creation. Business leaders in all industries are nervous about politicians with windfall mentalities. They know that "fairness" for one industry today could hit their industry tomorrow, as feeding government spending is what matters. Governor Kasich's tax plan includes no real reform; it nibbles at the margins of our problems. Shifting taxes doesn't lower Ohio's overall tax burden.

No matter which group's ranking you use, Ohio's state income tax is in the middle of the pack. Compared to most other states, Ohio isn't a high income-tax location. But these same rankings place Ohio's local tax burden among the highest in America. Because of his cuts in aid to local government, which did not fund a tax cut, local governments have raised taxes across Ohio. As a result, net taxes on Ohioans have gone up under Governor Kasich, making our state even less competitive.

Ohioans needs major tax reform that lowers the overall state and local tax burden and ratchets down government spending. Failure to do both will drive more entrepreneurs and jobs out of Ohio. If conservatives now define victory as zero net tax reduction and minimal spending cuts, then our movement is intellectually dead. We can do better than merely tread water.

Matt Mayer lives in Dublin, Ohio, and is author of Taxpayers Don't Stand a Chance, to be published in June by Provisum Publishing.

Prayer Request

From our Prayer Request Team:

 

Pray for the justices of the Supreme Court this week.  I'm sure we all know how important this week is for these justices.  I would especially ask for prayers for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy.  Both of these men are likely to swing the vote of the court one way or the other.

Let us pray:

O God in Heaven, help the men and women of the Supreme Court of the United States of America to judge rightly according to Your righteous judgments and according to the original intent of the Constitution our founding fathers gave us.  Fill the court with Your Holy Spirit and banish confusion, ungodliness and strife.  Give the attorneys articulate speech.  Give the justices discerning minds.

We ask Your forgiveness for taking our freedoms for granted and not cherishing them as we should have done.  We are heartily sorry and pledge to work hard to preserve them, by Your grace, that our children and grandchildren may live in peace and freedom and worship You without fear.

Hear us, we pray, in Jesus' name

Amen.

Bill Maher: Obama's Million Dollar Man

As recently as March 1st Bill Burton, cofounder of Priorities USA Action SuperPAC, was promoting the views of a donor who referred to women in violent, hateful and derogatory ways. Today, we call on Mr. Burton to follow President Obama's lead and reject this language and messenger.

 

Do You Believe in God?

With the debate over the Catholic Church's reaction to the Obama Administration's healthcare mandate making front page news for the past two weeks, the topic of "Faith in America" is in the spotlight. So, the very curious Blaze editorial staff wants to learn more about YOU and your faith. Take our new URTAK poll on Faith and the role that God plays in your life HERE.

Candidate’s Night

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 7 PM

Lakeland Community College, Room T-129

Candidates who will be appearing on the March 6th Primary ballot have been invited to come and introduce themselves and tell us why they are running.

The following candidates have accepted and will participate:

David Macko,  Libertarian candidate for US House, District 14

Donna Glisman, Republican candidate for US Senate

David Fiebig, Republican candidate for Lake County Commissioner

Emilee Teresczuk, Republican candidate for Lake County Clerk of Courts

John Hamercheck, Republican candidate for Lake County Commissioner

Jason Wuliger, Republican candidate for Lake County Recorder

Eric LaMont Gregory, Republican candidate for US Senate

Richard Shreve, Republican candidate for Lake County Commissioner

Linda Burhenne, Republican candidate for Lake County Commissioner

Bob Patterson, Republican Candidate for Lake County Treasurer

Ted Andrzejewski, Democratic candidate for Lake County Commissioner

Stephen Emmert, Republican candidate for State Central Committee, 25th District

LOCATION: This meeting will take place at Lakeland Community College in Room T-129.

Follow this link for a map of the campus showing where the T Building is located: http://files.meetup.com/1419069/Campus_Map-T.pdf

(The T building is marked in Red with parking indicted in green.  Handicap parking is permitted in the blue areas.)

Follow this link for a map of the rooms in the T Building: http://files.meetup.com/1419069/Campus_Map-...

There is a $2 Meeting Room Fee. This fee is waived for Active Members who have paid their yearly dues, college students with an ID and children under 17.

 

CLINT EASTWOOD SUPER BOWL AD: IT'S HALFTIME IN AMERICA...

If you missed it at the Super Bowl half time, here it is again.  Everybody’s talking about it…

(Or, if you just want to watch it over and over again!)