Ohio needs to solve problems to lure new residents
In concept, talking up Ohio's pluses, as Gov. Mike Dewine wants to do — albeit at a cost of $50 million — isn't a bad idea. Trouble is, even with Ohio's many distinctions, its leaders have some explaining to do.
• Such as, why Ohio incomes, on a per capita basis, lag the nation's.
• Such as, why, in a nation made digital-first by COVID-19, Ohio continues to futz around about statewide broadband access. Talk, talk, talk: That's Ohio's broadband “strategy.”
• Such as, why Ohio's purportedly liberal Democratic Party has yet to elect a Black Ohioan to a statewide executive elected office. (Democrats did nominate and help elect Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart, a greater Cleveland Democrat.) But Republicans nominated Ohio's first elected Black statewide executive officeholder, Cincinnati's J. Kenneth Blackwell, who served as state treasurer, then secretary of state, and the GOP'S 2006 nominee for governor of Ohio. Moreover, Republican Gov. James
A. Rhodes appointed, and voters subsequently elected, the Ohio Supreme Court's first black justice, the late Robert M. Duncan.
• Such as, why Ohio purportedly conservative Republican Party, defenders of the Constitution, are forever trying to roll back a woman's right to decide if, and when, she will bear a child.
• Such as, how Ohio can realistically lure Californians and New Yorkers to move to Ohio.
Example: Two years ago, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that per capita personal income in the New York-new Jersey metropolitan area was $79,844. In the Los Angeles-long Beach-anaheim metropolitan area, it was $66,854.
But per capita personal income in the Cincinnati metropolitan area was $56,033; in the Cleveland metropolitan area, $55,451; in the Columbus metropolitan area, $52,477; and in the Dayton metropolitan area, $49,161.
Inevitable counter-argument: Taxes are killing New Yorkers and Californians, and scaring off businesses. But, according to the U.S. Regional Economic Analysis Project, the No. 1 state, from 2010 through 2019, in per capita personal income growth was California at 3.02%, and New York was No. 2 at 2.92%. Ohio ranked 36th at 1.47%.
Then comes what is supposed to be the ultimate, unbeatable argument for why people should leave Manhattan and Beverly Hills for suburban Ohio: “Your dollars go farther in Ohio.”
Actually, your dollars don't go very far at all. You send dollars to the electric company and the insurance company, a few counties away. The electric company and insurance company pay Statehouse lobbyists to … persuade … Ohio politicians to boost your electric rates or make it harder for you to win a personal-injury lawsuit. It's a perpetual motion machine that strip-mines your checkbook for the benefit of Statehouse players.
Sure, as Ohio attractions go, the State Fair's butter cow and Saturdays in Ohio Stadium are decent lures. But they can't hide the fact that, yeah, sure, some people in Ohio are making money — but you might not be one of them.
Celebrezzes once championed ordinary Ohioans from bench
The death of former Ohio Supreme Court Justice James P. Celebrezze, a greater Cleveland Democrat, on Feb. 10 at age 83, called to mind an era when some Ohio Supreme Court justices stopped pretending they were members of a religious order, far above the concerns of rank-and-file Ohioans.
Leaving aside criminal cases, the Supreme Court's real role is to referee fights between statewide foes: Utilities and consumers; policyholders and insurers; trial lawyers and corporate defense lawyers. In that connection, there is a lot to be said (and a lot has been said and written) about Celebrezze and his late brother, former Chief Justice Frank D. Celebrezze (1928-2010).
Sure, Ohio voters voted to unseat James Celebrezze in 1984, and Frank Celebrezze in 1986. Back home, though, Cuyahoga County voters later elected James Celebrezze to the Common Pleas Court's Domestic Relations Division.
Thirty-five years later, the Supreme Court's history is there for anyone to judge. It's possible to wonder if what really bugged the foes of the Celebrezze brothers was their arguable tendency to see state law not as holy and unquestionable scripture but as a framework for solving the real problems of real Ohioans, who might perhaps belong to veterans' posts or bowling leagues, not country clubs.
Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University.
tsuddes@gmail.com
Some believe that the nation needs a two-party political process; a conservative Republican Party to counterbalance a liberal Democratic Party.
After losing the presidency and the Senate, many Republicans wonder about the future of their party. The long-standing conservative Republican is asking, “Is there a place for me in a Trump-led Republican Party?” That is not the right question.
Conservatives believe in individual responsibility and less government. Their view is that with sufficient desire and hard work, everyone can succeed. They point to the many examples of those, who despite the difficult circumstances of their birth, have risen to the top.
Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, and they deserve recognition. But there are no exceptions to the rule that if one starts the race a long way behind others, it is very likely that he will finish behind them.
The Republican Party has been in knee-jerk opposition to Social Security, universal health care, child care, a higher minimum wage, workplace safety, environmental regulation, immigration reform and other programs for social advancement.
The right question a doubting Republican should ask, “Am I really selfish enough to be a Republican?”
W.M. Goldberger, Columbus