Featured Article
Still a Nation at Risk?
By David W. Kirkpatrick
Defenders
of public schooling would have you believe that all criticism comes
from "the far right," conservatives, those who are anti-school,
anti-teacher, anti-teacher unions, taxpayers only concerned about
costs, and the like. Some of this may be true, but there are at least
two things wrong with such arguments.
First, they fail to deal with the validity of the criticism which may
be true whatever the source. As has been pointed out, even a stopped
clock is right twice a day.
More seriously, however, is that such arguments tend to deflect
attention from the research-backed criticism from within the
educational establishment.
Buckeye Voices
Cincinnati
COAST Legal Counsel Chris Finney joins Mike Maurer, Buckeye Institute
director of the Center for Transparent and Accountable Government, to
discuss the Cincinnati campaign against red light cameras. Mr. Finney's
organization believes red light cameras are in place not because of
public safety concerns, but to collect additional revenue. He makes his
case on BuckeyeVoices.
Don't Blame NAFTA
The Cincinnati Enquirer editorializes "One unfortunate byproduct of this year's presidential campaign is how the issue of trade has become a political football. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have competed for bragging rights as the bigger basher, in public at least, of the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA is the convenient target for many Americans' frustrations on a host of economic issues, and politicians readily play into those frustrations."
In Ohio and NAFTA Revisited, Buckeye Institute advisor Joseph Zoric writes,"Our political leaders would like us to believe that NAFTA is to blame for the decline of manufacturing jobs in the country. It is true that in the fourteen years since NAFTA began, 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost. However, in the fourteen years before NAFTA, 2.7 million manufacturing jobs were lost. In fact, manufacturing employment as a percentage of all jobs has been declining since 1944 while manufacturing output has been rising in absolute terms. This trend is caused by increased productivity brought about by technological advancements in manufacturing which began long before NAFTA or the recent advancement in global trade."
Help Poor by Reducing Taxes
According to the Columbus Dispatch, "Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order this afternoon creating the Ohio Anti-Poverty Task Force to find ways to help low-income families."
In
Income Tax System Hurts
Poor,
Buckeye Institute fellows Sam Staley and Robert Lawson write, "Many
people believe Ohio's income tax system is fair because it is
progressive. After all, people earning higher incomes pay higher tax
rates. Many people, however, may not realize that the system unfairly
penalizes most Ohio families, particularly lower-income families. It
does this by letting inflation push people into higher tax brackets and
forcing them to pay higher tax rates even though their standard of
living hasn't changed. Because no adjustment is made for inflation,
Ohio's income tax system generates a steady stream of unvoted tax
increases."
An Increased Tax Burden for a Few
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports, "Earlier this month officials at Little Miami schools in Warren County moved to put a 1 percent earned income tax on the November ballot and officials at Monroe schools in Butler County are deciding between putting an estimated $28 million bond issue for a new school on either the August or November ballot."
In
Shifting the Cost of
Governnment, Buckeye Institute analyst
Marc Kilmer
writes, "The earned income tax was approved by the General Assembly in
2005 for use by school districts. Ohio is one of the few states that
allows school districts to tax incomes to raise money for things such
as new buildings. Previously, school districts were only able to levy
income taxes that covered all sources of income as taxed by the state
income tax. But with the earned income tax, only self-employment and
earned income is taxed. The result is that a large number of school
district residents whose income comes from investments, pensions,
welfare benefits, and other sources do not pay the tax."
Buckeye Institute in the News
The
Hillsboro
Times-Gazette published Marc Kilmer's article on mandating
health insurance coverage.
