Featured Articles
Buckeye Institute's Fight for an Uncorrupted Vote: Miller v. ACORN
By David HansenOn October 14, the Buckeye Institute filed a state RICO action against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on behalf of two Warren County voters. The action filed in Warren County Court of Common Pleas alleges ACORN has engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity that amounts to organized crime. It seeks ACORN's dissolution as a legal entity, the revocation of any licenses in Ohio, and an injunction against fraudulent voter registration and other illegal activities.
Plaintiffs Jennifer Miller of Mason, Ohio and Kimberly Grant of Loveland, allege that ACORN's actions deprive them of the right to participate in an honest and effective elections process. They allege fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN dilute the votes of legally registered voters.
Counting the ACORN Seeds of Election Fraud
By Jennifer MillerThe presidential election ended with a whirlwind of activity in Ohio. Some of us are exuberant, others are disappointed, but most of us are relieved Election Day has passed. Whether you are celebrating Democrat victories or frustrated by Republican defeats, Ohioans cannot close the book on this election until questions about unlawful voter registrations are resolved.
BuckeyeVoices
In
this week's BuckeyeVoices,
Maurice Thompson, director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law,
discusses the Buckeye Institute's efforts on behalf of two Warren
County citizens. In October, the Buckeye Institute filed a civil RICO
action against ACORN.
New at the Buckeye Institute
There is a new website by the Buckeye Institute's Center for Transparent and Accountable Government that allows you to calculate what you would make if you were a state government employee.
What to do about Taxes
The
Cleveland
Plain Dealer reports,
"With fiscal experts expecting a train wreck in next year's state
budget, Republican Ohio Senate President Bill Harris had an emphatic
message for newly empowered Democrats: Don't even think about messing
with previous Republican-passed tax cuts."
In
Phasing Out Ohio's
Income Tax,
Buckeye Institute adjunct scholar Eric Fisher writes,
"Ohio's economy is anemic, ranking near the bottom of most lists on job
creation, new investment and business climate. The state, not
surprisingly, is also ranked among the most heavily taxed. It's time
for Ohio policymakers to consider dramatic steps to reverse its
long-term decline by creating an investment friendly business climate.
Abolishing the state income tax, while politically bold, should be near
the top of their agenda."
Strickland Wants State Bailout
The Toledo Blade reports, "On Friday, Gov. Ted Strickland told The Blade that Congress should pass an infrastructure bill to put people to work immediately, help the states with Medicaid funding, and extend unemployment benefits."
In Stimulating a Bad Idea, Buckeye Institute analyst Marc Kilmer writes, "It is one thing to be ignorant of history. It is quite another to willfully ignore the recent past. Governor Strickland and the legislators who kept spending in light of an almost-guaranteed decline in tax revenues now want someone to bail them out. They have failed in their duty to be good stewards of taxpayers' money but do not want to face the consequences of their own actions. It is too bad that they are likely to receive positive reinforcement from D.C. for their fiscally irresponsible ways."
The Elusive School Funding Fix
WTTE reports, "The stage is set for Governor Strickland's big unveiling. He's promised Ohio a plan in 2009 for fixing the way it pays for public schools, and circumstances are reaching a crescendo."
In
School
Funding as a Distraction,
Buckeye Institute education fellow David Kirkpatrick writes,
"the constant stress on money draws attention away from educational
issues and places first the issue that arguably should be last. In
simplistic terms for reasons of space, a rational approach would be:
First consider what education is to do. This involves many details such
as what is appropriate at what age. Next, consider how to do it, which
doesn't necessarily involve conventional schools, and certainly doesn't
equate a school with a building, or vice versa, as some districts have
come to realize."
Buckeye
Institute in the News
An op-ed in the Washington Times mentioned the Buckeye Institute's lawsuit against ACORN.
The Hillsboro Times Gazette published Marc Kilmer's op-ed on the Google-Yahoo! antitrust deal.
