Appalachia-What If?

Appalachia, comprised of the eastern and southeastern Ohio counties, ranks among the poorest parts of the state. I have lived there and have seen the abject poverty that plagues the region.

In July, Ann Curry of NBC News reported, "All across America, it is happening. People are hurting. For some, this economy may be turning around. But millions of families are at risk of going hungry in one of the richest nations on earth. The number of Americans visiting local food pantries has jumped 30 percent in the past two years alone. And here, in this rural region of Ohio, the very heart of America, the need is especially urgent...the stories poignant. Tonight, a very personal look inside the lives of families who’ve had it all vanish – jobs, homes, and dreams. How do you choose between paying your bills and feeding your kids?"

What If?

How many of us have called our phone company, our bank, or internet support and have ended up talking to someone in India? If companies can build and operate call centers thousands of miles away, why can't they build them in Appalachia? Business is conducted by telephone and computer. Call centers can be anywhere.

What if the State approached the companies that have outsourced American jobs to foreign countries with a proposal:

-The State of Ohio will build and operate educational/training centers in Southeastern Ohio to prepare Ohioans for employment in call centers. 

-The State of Ohio will build the infrastructure, as needed.

-The State of Ohio will provide tax incentives to any company building a call center in Appalchia.

-The State of Ohio will, on a sliding scale, subsidize employee income to offset the salary differential between wages paid to workers in Third World countries and those paid in the U.S,

-The State of Ohio will pay employee contributions to company-sponsored health insurance.

-The company will import temporary management to oversee operations, as needed, with the intention of eventually promoting exclusively from within.

-In return for incentives provided by the State, the company will agree to a long-term commitment to the area.

Call centers employ thousands of workers. Why not build them in Appalachia? We can spend our tax dollars on welfare, or food stamps, or medicaid or subsidized housing or we can build a foundation for the future of Appalachia.

                                                                                

Outsourcing

The Huffington Post reported today that the "Senate Republicans beat back an effort by Democrats to end tax breaks for companies who send jobs overseas only to import the products back into the United States. The bill included a payroll tax holiday for companies that bring jobs back from overseas, ended tax breaks for plants that shut down to go elsewhere, and blocked companies from deferring their tax bill year to year by keeping money out of the U.S.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses in the United States, has aggressively fought the effort to reduce outsourcing. In 2004, Chamber head Tom Donohue made the case that outsourcing shouldn't be a concern because only "two, maybe three million jobs, maybe four" would be lost.

During the debate over the stimulus, the U.S. Chamber also fought efforts to include a provision that would encourage taxpayer money to be spent on products made by domestic companies. It opposed the outsourcing bill, arguing in a letter to the Senate that "replacing a job that is based in another country with a domestic job does not stimulate economic growth". Really?

Our workers, the most productive in the world, do not deserve to be abandoned by Big Business in their time of need. It is time to bring the jobs home.

Outsourcing

The Huffington Post reported today that the "Senate Republicans beat back an effort by Democrats to end tax breaks for companies who send jobs overseas only to import the products back into the United States. The bill included a payroll tax holiday for companies that bring jobs back from overseas, ended tax breaks for plants that shut down to go elsewhere, and blocked companies from deferring their tax bill year to year by keeping money out of the U.S.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses in the United States, has aggressively fought the effort to reduce outsourcing. In 2004, Chamber head Tom Donohue made the case that outsourcing shouldn't be a concern because "two, maybe three million jobs, maybe four" would be lost.

During the debate over the stimulus, the U.S. Chamber also fought efforts to include a provision that would encourage taxpayer money to be spent on products made by domestic companies. It opposed the outsourcing bill, arguing in a letter to the Senate that "replacing a job that is based in another country with a domestic job does not stimulate economic growth". Really?

Our workers, the most productive in the world, do not deserve to be abandoned by Big Business in their time of need. It is time to bring the jobs home.

.

Tax Loopholes & More

CNN Money reported that quite contrary to President Ronald Reagan’s reputation, he actually signed into law what amounted to the “largest tax increase in (peacetime) American history”–upon realizing that our country couldn’t really afford the largest tax cuts that he had put in place earlier in his Administration. But the Reagan Administration’s tax increases were large in terms of revenue gains, not in terms of marginal tax rates, because they did it the smart way: by reforming the tax system to make the tax base broader and more efficient. Two bills passed in 1982 and 1984 together “constituted the biggest tax increase ever enacted during peacetime,” tax historian Joseph Thorndike said.

Reagan didn’t raise more revenue by hiking individual income tax rates though. Instead he and a bi-partisan Congress did it largely through making it tougher to evade taxes, and through “base broadening” — that is, reducing various federal tax breaks and closing tax loopholes.

Imagine if the slash-and-burn budget cuts that have become a new way of life for recession-stricken state governments could be ended by keeping the tax burden off low- and middle-income families while raising taxes on the wealthy.

When asked about a proposed new income tax in Washington state, Willaim Gates, Sr., a prominent retired lawyer, philanthropist and father to Microsoft founder Bill Gates, commented  "state cutbacks have put our kids at risk, and we can't just sit here and do nothing about it."

Gates said skewing taxes toward the rich is nothing new. "I have a very clear recollection of the days when we took for granted an income tax rate on the highest earners of 90%, 70%, at times when our country was just motoring along in very good style," he said. "The notion of adding a couple of points to a 35% [federal] rate — it isn't going to change the world."

Did you know that the top twenty-five hedge fund managers made a combined $25 billion but because of tax policy their lobbyists helped write, they pay a lower effective tax rate than many teachers, nurses and police officers? As a result of tax havens in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and elsewhere, the wealthy and large corporations are evading some $100 billion a year in U.S. taxes. Warren Buffett, one of the richest people on earth, has often commented that he pays a lower effective tax rate than his secretary.

We need to overhaul Ohio's tax structure. Do not be fooled by those politicians who claim that raising taxes on the wealthy will somehow harm the economy or will negatively impact the low- and middle-class. The present tax system favors the rich and big business. They have the means to lobby politicians, the means to pay for access through unlimited campaign contributions, and the belief that wealth and power equals entitlement. Funny...these are the same people who want to end entitlements for everyone else.

We know for a fact that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen and the middle-class is shrinking.  I remember awhile ago watching Chris Matthews, MSNBC, interviewing a Republican operative about the state of the economy. Chris asked the man what will happen to the economy when 75% of the people can no longer afford to spend? The Republican shrugged and blithely responded that the other 25% will have to make up the difference. Matthews, shocked that this man would suggest that it was OK for three quarters of the populace to do without, retorted, "You don't really mean that do you? That's un-American."

 If elected, I will work to eliminate tax loopholes and tax breaks for the wealthy and to put in place an equitable tax system for all Ohioans.

Decentralize or Divide?

We hear a lot of complaints about the Federal Government being too big and there are people who want to give all power to the States. They go so far as to suggest that we disband the Federal government except on matters of national defense.

I agree with the concept of decentralization, of restoring more power and responsibility to communities and regions. But is it feasible? First, we live in a very complex world and we need a National agenda to succeed. Look at our school system. Currently our public schools are in the hands of local school boards. They’re a disaster. In addition, they’re subject to local mores and prejudices.

Texas is a good example of how a local educational system can be perverted to fit a political agenda. According to CNN, the Texas Board of Education recently "moved aggressively to put its hard-right conservative stamp on what students need to learn about the American past. Among the changes made by the board was the elimination of Thomas Jefferson from a list of thinkers who had inspired revolutions around the world. Conservatives object to Jefferson's support for a clear separation of church and state." Can you imagine? One of the greatest men in the history of the United States has been edited out of history in Texas.

CNN goes on to say that "conservatives want an American history that ignores or marginalizes African-Americans, women, Latinos, immigrants and popular culture. Rather than genuinely engaging the fundamental conflicts that have shaped our past, they prefer a celebratory history that denies those fundamental conflicts. And they insist books stress, as school board chairman Don McLeroy put it, that "America was built on Biblical ideals"."

Then there is the concept of municipal “Home Rule”, which invites corruption in City government. Civil Rights, freedom of and freedom from religion…in many communities these rights would not exist were it not for our Federal Government. We, as a Nation, rose above the local prejudices that deprived millions of Americans of their inalienable right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

There are those who want to return us to the past. Has history not taught us anything? The challenge for all of us is, how do we improve upon this imperfect union that we call the United States of America? One thing I know for certain...it is not by dividing us.

Old Strategems Not the Answer

In an earlier post (Jobs) I stated that we should discard old business stratagems that no longer work in today's economic environment.

Our politicians keep trumping the role that small business plays in job creation and employment. However, according to Time magazine (September 13, 2010) the National Bureau of Economic Research "found that small, mature firms (those with fewer than 500 employees and at least 10 years in operation) are actually net drags on job growth". It went on to report that in 2005, as an example, "small businesses lost about a million jobs, even as the overall economy expanded by about 2.5 million. Between 1992 and 2005, small business destroyed more salaries than they created." New startup companies accounted for nearly all the growth.

Ohio should turn its focus away from the old crop of small businesses, and instead support the new start-up businesses that have the potential to become the next big firms. The fact is, large companies employ the most people.

Appalachia-What If?

Appalachia, comprised of the eastern and southeastern Ohio counties, ranks among the poorest parts of the state. I have lived there and have seen the abject poverty that plagues the region.

In July, Ann Curry of NBC News reported, "All across America, it is happening. People are hurting. For some, this economy may be turning around. But millions of families are at risk of going hungry in one of the richest nations on earth. The number of Americans visiting local food pantries has jumped 30 percent in the past two years alone. And here, in this rural region of Ohio, the very heart of America, the need is especially urgent...the stories poignant. Tonight, a very personal look inside the lives of families who’ve had it all vanish – jobs, homes, and dreams. How do you choose between paying your bills and feeding your kids?"

What If?

How many of us have called our phone company, our bank, or internet support and have ended up talking to someone in India? If companies can build and operate call centers thousands of miles away, why can't they build them in Appalachia? Business is conducted by telephone and computer. Call centers can be anywhere.

What if the State approached the companies that have outsourced American jobs to foreign countries with a proposal:

-The State of Ohio will build and operate educational/training centers in Southeastern Ohio to prepare Ohioans for employment in call centers. 

-The State of Ohio will build the infrastructure, as needed.

-The State of Ohio will provide tax incentives to any company building a call center in Appalchia.

-The State of Ohio will, on a sliding scale, subsidize employee income to offset the salary differential between wages paid to workers in Third World countries and those paid in the U.S,

-The State of Ohio will pay employee contributions to company-sponsored health insurance.

-The company will import temporary management to oversee operations, as needed, with the intention of eventually promoting exclusively from within.

-In return for incentives provided by the State, the company will agree to a long-term commitment to the area.

Call centers employ thousands of workers. Why not build them in Appalachia? We can spend our tax dollars on welfare, or food stamps, or medicaid or subsidized housing or we can build a foundation for the future of Appalachia.

Breathe

Where do the people razing our forests think the air we breathe comes from? Do they know the forests sustain us?

The primary way in which the Earth generates oxygen for the atmosphere is through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis accounts for 98% of the world's atmospheric oxygen. It is the process plants and trees use to extract energy from the sun. Water and carbon dioxide are taken in by the plants and trees, and sunlight provides energy for converting these substances into sugars and other energy-rich substances that nourish them. Oxygen is a byproduct of photosynthesis, and when the Earth is in balance, enough atmospheric oxygen is produced to replace the oxygen that is used.

All forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees not only improve the quality of the air that species breath by trapping the carbon and other particles produced by pollution, they also determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. As more water gets put back in the atmosphere, clouds form and provide another way to block out the sun's heat. Trees are what cool and regulates the earth's climate in conjunction with other such valuable services as preventing erosion, landslides, and making the most infertile soil rich with life. Mother earth has given much responsibility to trees.

How much forest are we losing? Global annual estimates for 1990-95 show a net forest loss of 112,600 square kilometers per year. The world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years at the current rate of deforestation.

What would our world be like without trees? What will we breathe?

[to be continued]

Who's Running Our Schools?

The Gahanna News reported that teachers' association concerns kept Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools out of the running for Race to the Top federal funds. School Superintendent Mark White said, "the federal dollars had a few strings attached, including a federal teacher evaluation process."

At the same time, voters in the Gahanna Jefferson public school district are being asked to pass Issue 5, a school operating levy, in November. The issue, if approved by voters, will generate about $10 million per year for the school district and will cost homeowners an additional $208.25 per year in property taxes per $100,000 in home value. (White) said Issue 5 is necessary to fund the day-to-day operations in the district, which includes textbooks, utilities and teacher salaries."

The Los Angeles Times recently used school district test data to rank elementary school teachers based upon how much their students improved from year to year on standardized reading and math tests. The data, which school districts across the nation possess on their own students, had never been analyzed. How can that be?  What it found was that "the best teachers often taught just down the hall from the worst, and those highly effective teachers consistently raised test scores no matter who their students were".

As USA Today put it, "bad teachers don't get replaced, great teachers don't get rewarded and students' lives are blunted." Reform doesn't come easy. Michelle Rhee was hired as Washington DC's school chancellor. She was brought in to reform a failing school system. One of the reforms she implemented was teacher evaluations that combined value-added with sophisticated observations. Her firing this summer of 76 teachers has so angered the union that it is now working to oust the mayor who hired her.

"We cannot cede our responsibility to our children to appease those groups making the loudest noises and the greatest threats. Nothing will be right in this country until we put our children first." -jkt-


The D.C. schools have been awarded $75 million in Race to the Top grants. In House District 20, kudos to Bexley, Columbus and Whitehall for going after and receiving Race to the Top dollars.

Jobs

I remember several years ago reading the results of a survey of business men and women in the surrounding area, that sought their opinions on our business environment. A "how are we doing" and "would you consider opening a business here" questionnaire. One business owner responded that he had no intention of bringing his business here because he thinks the workers are less educated and less sophisticated.

The Pew Center Education Report Card 2010 grades the states on education performance and policy. According to the Center, "the Nation scores high on education standards policies, but struggles to provide opportunities to succeed." In it "the Chance-for-Success Index grades the nation and states on 13 indicators capturing the critical role that education plays as a person moves from childhood, through the K-12 system, and into college and the workforce." Ohio ranks 25th among the states. And that raises the question...are our schools educating our children to succeed?

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of education and the role it plays in attracting businesses to Ohio and providing jobs for Ohioans. I understand that we have an immediate need to create jobs and I will work tirelessly to assist those who are unemployed to find jobs. But we need to lay the foundation for the future of Ohio and the future of our children.

No. 1 - A highly educated and highly skilled workforce will attract businesses to Ohio.
No. 2 - Agressive retraining programs for Ohioans whose companies have packed up and left the State or have shipped their jobs overseas.
No. 3 -We should not give tax breaks to companies who ship jobs overseas. Bring the jobs home.
No. 4 - There has been a change in consumer buying habits as a result of current economic conditions. We must discard old business stratagems that no longer work in today's economic environment and develop a blueprint for the future of small business in Ohio.
No. 5 - I will be looking very closely at the Ohio Department of Development; its structure and effectiveness. Peoples' livelihoods are at stake. We need to get politics out of it.


[to be continued]

Parks, Our Natural Heritage

Central Ohio has a wonderful park system. Our parks are teeming with wildlife and offer scenic vistas that can take us far away from the hectic clamor of our everyday lives. Everyone should have access to the parks. They are our Natural Heritage.

Our parks fulfill the longing in our children for adventure and exploration. By cultivating the natural curiosity and sense of wonderment in our children, we prepare them for the future. It is from a childhood well spent...days and nights filled with dreams, both real and imagined; of curiosities and longings (for what, we do not always know); of adventures, awaiting, around the next bend. It is from these children that our future leaders, our inventors and innovators, our writers and philosophers will emerge. Our parks are an integral part of the fabric of our Nation.

I was so entranced by my winter walk earlier this year, that I wrote to my friends:

"I woke up at about 8 this morning and concluded that today was the day I was going to take a long-overdue winter walk at Three Creeks Park. We'd just had new snow, but the roads were passable. I threw on my winter wear and off I went…..temperature 19 degrees. What a glorious day it was!!!

When I arrived, not another person was there. At first the sun shone down upon the frozen landscape and tiny snowflakes drifted to the ground, like sparkling diamonds falling from the sky. As I entered into the woods, the sky turned grey, enveloping me in solitary silence. I wandered off the beaten path and onto Confluence Trail, which leads to where three creeks converge into one.

I was walking along gazing left and right into the forest hoping to see deer. I turned just in time to see one leaping across my path and away, a fleeting moment....almost lost. Next I passed by geese and ducks bobbing calmly in an icy waterhole. Further on I paused to view the joining of the creeks and listened to the gurgling of water as it traveled on downstream.
Suddenly, I sensed motion to my left. I saw another deer running away from me. Then another and yet another raced by, finally stopping at a perceived safe distance from me and turning to stare. In all, there were seven of them.....6 girlies and one boy. Three of them stood their ground as I gazed upon them in awe. We stayed there for minutes studying each other, their white tails flicking as they contemplated my presence.

Finally I walked on as they disappeared amongst the trees. The trail was rough and my eyes were focused on the ground as I meandered along. Next I looked up, there stood a doe in the middle of the trail. Once again we two stood our ground, immersed in our own thoughts. She finally wandered off. Before I could move on, to my amazement, I spotted a baby deer just to the side of the trail, camouflaged by the brush. I remained a frozen observer in this frozen world of snow and ice and watched this sweet darling as she crossed before my eyes.

                                                                             
She and her mama finally moseyed off, while I continued upon my way. I emerged from the woods onto the main trail and headed back towards my car. The mama and baby deer raced by me one last time, as if following me to my destination. As I passed by the marsh, to my right I espied yet three more deer frolicking and prancing across the ice.

Now out of sight, I journeyed on through a stand of pines and at last crossed the foot bridge. A flock of geese flew overhead in formation, honking their goodbyes. No man did I encounter. Today, Three Creeks was all mine."-jkt-

Capital Punishment

                                                                           

Ohio had not executed a convicted murderer since the seventies. I remember when the killing began again. It was the spring of 2001. I and other people of faith gathered to pray in St. Joseph's Cathedral in downtown Columbus just before the execution was to occur. I was horrified that the State was going to kill a human being in my name. Mind you, I do not forget the victims. Nor do I forgive the murderer. But I refuse to follow the tenet, "an eye for an eye". I  do not wish to participate in barbarism. We, as a civilized Nation, should rise above this.

The company we keep:
Top10 Countries with the highest number of executions by population.
-China 1718
-Iran 346
-Saudi Arabia 102
-USA 37
-Pakistan 36
-Iraq 34
-Vietnam 19
-Afghanistan 17
-North Korea 15
-Japan 15

There were 52 executions in the United States in 2009.
-Texas 24
-Alabama 6
-Ohio 5
-Virginia 3
-Oklahoma  3
-Georgia  3
-Florida 2
-S Carolina  2
-Tennessee 2
-Missouri 1
-Indiana 1
 
There have been 111 people exonerated (freed) while waiting to be executed, and a dozen or so found innocent after execution. http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/deathpenalty/

The death of one innocent man can never be justifed to sate the thirst for revenge.

Business

If you read my previous article, "Regulations" you might think that I am against Business. Not at all. I am not unmindful of the benefits I have reaped working for Big Business. But I think most of you will agree that things are out of balance in this country right now.

U.S. executives earn about 400 times the pay of the lowest paid workers in their own companies. In Europe and Asia, the pay of executives is about 10 times that of the lowest paid worker. And, that does not include the generous stock options or severance packages that many top U.S. executives receive that increase the value of their compensation. These compensation packages of American executives have received a lot of media attention during the current economic crisis, especially when corporations with high pay rates for CEOs and other top employees are also shipping jobs abroad, laying off employees or closing plants.

As Harvard law professor Joseph Singer put it, there is "a disconnect between widely shared moral intuitions and our prevalent economic institutions and norms. We can bridge this gap between our values and our institutions through policy and law: the law is the site where [our] values are effectuated and implemented." That includes "corporate laws that balance employee, community, and shareholder interests."

I remember reading about Aaron Feuerstein, the owner of a textile factory in Massachusetts. His factory caught fire and burnt to the ground. At that point, he could have walked away. But, instead, Mr. Feuerstein promised his workers and the community that he would rebuild. And, while he was rebuilding, he continued to pay his employees. Here is a man who was tested and did "what everyone would agree was right, but what few people actually do".

Our workers, the most productive in the world, do not deserve to be abandoned by Big Business in their time of need. It is time to bring the jobs home.


[While writing this article, I remembered the story about Mr. Feuerstein and wanted to include it. A Google search landed me at:
www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_common_interest_in_property
I highly recommend it. I am tired of the labels Conservative, Liberal, Progressive. We are all Americans, together. We should not tear this country apart for a political agenda. More on this later.]

Regulations

The collapse on Wall Street and of our banking system; the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11, injured 17, and released millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for three months; and, the deaths of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia...all are a cautionary reminder that Big Business cannot be trusted on its own.

You know, I predicted the financial collapse long before it happened. All of the indicators were there: deregulation of the banks, leading to mergers that created financial monsters "too big to allow to fail" (did we learn nothing from the Great Depression and the Recession of 1980?); The Federal Reserve manipulating interest rates to give a false sense of security, while abetting mindless spending; our elected officials raiding the Treasury; people paying a million dollars for tract houses in California; Government borrowing from foreign countries to pay for two wars, instead of raising taxes as we had in the past; a Vice President scornfully saying deficits don't matter. Oh, the indicators were all there. And like drunken sailors our leaders just kept swimming into the abyss.

Then there's the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. Did you know that a device that costs just one half million dollars may have prevented the oil spill in the Gulf? Yes, that's right. The Orlando Independent Examiner reported that "the device is called an acoustic switch or actuator. It is a remote-controlled device deployed off oil rigs that sends acoustic impulses through the water, triggering an underwater valve or explosives to shut down the well even if the rig is catastrophically damaged or abandoned. Norway and Brazil require these devices in all offshore drilling operations. While they are not required with rigs offshore the U.K., BP elects to deploy them there. BP chose not to equip oil rigs off the coast of the U.S. with acoustic triggers because U.S. regulations enacted in 2003 do not require companies to do so."

"The Upper Big Branch coal mine", according to ABC News, "had amassed scores of citations from mining safety officials, including 57 infractions just last month for violations that included repeatedly failing to develop and follow a ventilation plan. Another Massey subsidiary agreed to pay $4.2 million in criminal and civil fines last year and admitted to willfully violating mandatory safety standards that led to the deaths of two miners."

No, Big Business cannot be trusted on its own. 5,214 workers died on the job in 2008 alone, and that doesn't count the number who died from occupational diseases. It is why we need regulations.

I have to tell you, I do not like politicians who put on a performance for television, sneering at a stack of books of regulations, just to win votes. It demeans the lives and suffering of those who have died or been permanently disabled because their employers care more for the bottom line than for them.

The Governor says a review has already been done and over 2,000 regulations have been eliminated. If elected, I would be willing to initiate a further review to do away with unnecessary ones. However I will not sacrifice the health and safety of Ohioans. I will not do so on the backs of those less fortunate. Nor will I remove any regulations that would further erode the environment, which sustains us.

Lastly, regulations are only as good as enforcement. If we are not enforcing laws and regulations, it becomes a stealthy means of doing away with them. We need to step up enforcement.