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Kasich Promotes Education, Workforce Proposals
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich called for introducing vocational education to students as early as seventh grade, providing academic credit to military veterans for skills learned while serving in the armed forces, and reducing the state’s income tax to below 5%.
The proposals were among several Kasich outlined during his third State of the State Address (WATCH FULL ADDRESS). The Republican governor delivered the speech, which was streamed online, at Medina High School in Medina.
Kasich told members of the General Assembly that proposals containing his ideas would be coming as a package to better connect students with career opportunities. Introducing vocational education opportunities to students earlier will not only better prepare them for high school and college, but will provide them with more information about the career options.
He also called for expanding opportunities for high school students to earn college credit for coursework that targets students who are at-risk of dropping out of school, and working with two-year colleges to help dropouts get diplomas and job credentials.
Among his proposed education reforms, he wants to launch Community Connectors, “an initiative to support the best ideas for bringing together schools, parents, communities, faith-based groups, businesses and students in mentoring efforts based on proven practices,” he said. He plans to call on state legislators to provide $10 million from casino licensing fees to support the program.
To help veterans transition back into civilian life, the state will launch an effort to provide free college and academic credit for the training and experiences they received in the armed forces.
“Whether it’s engineering, heavy machinery, construction, auto and truck repair, or advanced technology, the U.S. armed forces trains more people, in more sophisticated ways, than probably any other organization in the world,” Kasich said. “That training has prepared veterans for many of Ohio’s most in-demand jobs, and letting them more easily put it to work helps ease their transition to the home front. It also helps make Ohio stronger.”
The new round of tax cuts Kasich proposed would get the state tax rate below 5%, he said. “Since 1995, more than $12 billion in income has left Ohio for states with lower income taxes, and a lot of these people are our best and our brightest,” he said. He also called for making sure “no one is left behind” by helping minority businesses succeed.
“Together we’ve come through a very difficult patch,” Kasich said, reflecting on his first three years in office. When he took office in 2011, the state had an $8 billion budget deficit, had lost 350,000 private sector jobs and has just 89 cents in its rainy day fund, he said. “That’s not the Ohio we wanted. We knew we had to change things, so we took up the hard work and we moved ahead without fear of failing, and with urgency and resolve.”
During the address, he touted the Common Sense Initiative spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and tax cuts for individuals and small businesses, including the elimination of the estate tax or “death tax,” as he put it. “All of this is helping to unleash Ohioans’ natural energy, creativity and hard work, and they’ve created more than 170,000 private-sector jobs in three years,” he said. The state now has a $1.5 billion surplus, he noted, and keeping the state’s fiscal house in order will help Ohio retain and attract jobs.
“The nation’s business leaders are realizing that our new approach to economic development is something that sets us apart,” he said, referring to his JobsOhio initiative. “We treat job creators with respect by giving them peers, business experts and specialists in their fields to work with, and we work at their speed, which is the speed of business, not at the speed of government.” He cited a phone call from the CEO of Nestle USA, which relocated its pizza business from Chicago to Solon, who praised JobsOhio for collecting the data the company needed to make its decision.
Kasich also praised statewide education efforts, including collaboration among colleges and universities to come up with a single plan for new buildings and construction, and to focus on helping students graduate. He highlighted efforts to help people with disabilities live and work independently, and to assist the mentally ill and individuals facing addiction.
Kasich presented the Governor’s Courage Award to Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, the three Cleveland women who were held captive for a decade by Ariel Castro until their escape last May.
Statements issued following the governor’s address followed party game plans.
Kasich “clearly demonstrated tonight why he’s the right leader for Ohio,” said Matt Borges, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, contrasting the state’s condition when Kasich took office with its condition today.
“Even with all of Ohio’s progress there is still more work to do, and tonight the governor laid out a positive vision to keep building Ohio’s comeback,” the GOP chairman continued. “The governor wants the hardworking Ohio families to keep more of their money, he wants to make sure workers are prepared for new jobs, he wants to keep improving our schools and he wants to keep growing jobs.”
Democrats took a different view of Kasich’s speech, including his likely opponent in this fall’s gubernatorial contest. Some of what the governor said “sounds reasonable and some pieces we might even agree on, but, as is too often the case,” what Kasich has said he will do and what he has done are “worlds apart,” remarked Ed Fitzgerald, the Cuyahoga County executive expected to the Democrats’ nominee.
Kasich “has forgotten about the vast majority of Ohioans -- its families, police officers and firefighters, teachers and seniors” and his agenda “has too often benefitted the well-connected and the privileged few, while everyday Ohioans remain anxious about the future, living paycheck-to-paycheck, worried about saving enough for retirement and putting too little in the college fund,” he added.
Fitzgerald also criticized what he described as Kasich’s “outsourcing” of education to for-profit, unproven and failed corporations.”
Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, D-33 Boardman, who took part in a news conference earlier in the day previewing Kasich’s speech, said the governor “attempted to gloss over the failure of his administration to adequately address” the state’s high unemployment rate.
“Over the past year, Ohio’s unemployment rate has gone up more than any other state in the country and 31,000 more Ohioans are out of work today than a year ago,” he remarked. “Unfortunately, the governor’s response has been to propose further income tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy. And we can’t forget he also raised the state sales tax and inflicted drastic cuts on our schools and local communities.”
State Rep. Bob Hagan, D-58 Youngstown, said Kasich used the speech to herald an economy that has “come to a grinding halt” over the past year. “Ohio families could be excused for thinking Gov. Kasich must be visiting from out of state. His rhetoric of an expanding economy does not mesh with the grim reality in Ohio,” he remarked. “Maybe the top few percent are doing okay, thanks to a generous tax cut from the governor, but half of Ohioans are struggling to make ends meet.”
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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