THANKS HENRY

Thanks for the memories Henry Ford. You led the work-to-consume revolution that has lasted a century, but, alas, that model is in its death throes.

World labor costs are fast coming into balance and international corporations find it more difficult to find labor at a price that will provide, along with transportation a viable return to investors.

Where do the corporations go from here? In my considered opinion automated manufacturing is the logical next step in the labor cost evolution.

The digitizers in silicon valley have been predicting the “end of work” for some time now. All's well? No it is not, because we don't have a policy,or even a think tank advocating for a new economic model to replace the work to consume model.

Imagine if you will, a huge building where an operator and a materials loader are churning out thousands of auto parts every 24 hours every day of the year. When a printer part breaks another printer makes a new one.

Whom will have the ready cash to buy the parts except the few one time machine makers and the operators. Joe six pack can kiss his dream of an RV, a bass boat and steaks on the grill goodbye. That is, if he hasn't already, due to international labor price balancing.

My feeble input is to tax the machines and create demand by using the revenue to fix and create new infrastructure, expand and improve education. (reducing class size by half would double the teacher force and improve the students outcome) house the homeless and fix the addicted and on and on.

Test update

Paul Hunter

Sticky Wicket

Look who many GOP presidential candidates are cosying up to in order to get the approval of the religious conservative movement. I'm still amazed that Reed escaped prosecution in the crooked Tom Delay-Abramoff lobbying case.

The trick for the GOP primary winner is be able to extricate himself from extreme group association and move more to the center for the general election. Mitt was unable do pull it off and it appears that no lessons were learned from that debacle.

Paul Hunter

“The Faith and Freedom Coalition, the Religious Right group led by right-wing disgraced Ralph Reed, is holding its annual “Road to Majority” conference next week. Nearly every Republican presidential candidate has signed up for the event, and today, the FFC announced that Ohio Gov. John Kasich will be addressing the conservative summit.

Reed is best known for his involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal, where he organized a Christian Coalition anti-gambling campaign in Alabama with the help of secretive funding from Mississippi tribes that owned casinos – who just so happened to be Abramoff’s clients that didn’t want business competition from the neighboring state. Reed denied knowing the source of the funding, even though investigators uncovered emails from Abramoff asking Reed to send invoices for approval from a Mississippi tribe which controlled major gaming interests. Abramoff later said that Reed “didn't want it out that he was getting gambling money,” adding that Reed was “a tap dancer and constantly just asking for money.”

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/john-kasich-kicks-presidential-bid-addressing-religious-right-gathering

Darned Activist Court

It will be the ultimate irony when strict constitutionalist conservatives denounce a basic part of the hallowed document, the creation of the supreme court. Earl Warren would be proud of his fellow republican appointees Stand by for the outcry

Paul Hunter

Gitcher Gun

Several years ago the city had put a “no guns allowed”sign at the entrance to the city park. As one would expect,the local gun lobby, mainly one Tim Inwood, went ballistic over this gross violation of heat packing resident's rights.

Seeing an opportunity for a little satire I penned the following letter to the editor . Needless to say Mr. Iwood did not find the piece humorus

Editor, News Journal:

The other evening I decided to drive over to the city park and watch a ball game. I had read about the crime wave turning the park into a virtual no man’s land but being the naïve soul that I am, went anyway. Nothing bad ever happens to me. Alas!

I had just parked my truck near the north softball field when a burly, 12 year old girl from one of the teams approached me. “give me keys you old geezer or I will knock your darn head off’, she shouted.

Fearing for my life, I did as requested and was knocked to the ground for my efforts.

I had just struggled to my knees when I heard a childish cry, ”let’s get his wallet while he’s down”. I turned and was horrified to see an entire T-ball team rushing toward me with menace in their eyes.

I jumped to my feet, ran south toward the pond, where I jumped in to escape further harm.

The ducks and geese that call the pond home, took umbrage and attacked me with bills and wings.

Exhausted, I made my way to the shadows of Fide Avenue. As I limped home I mumbled to myself, “If I had only brought my gun none of this would have happened”. :-)

Paul Hunter

Beyond Recycling

The Pope's pronouncement on global climate change has regenerated a lot of commentary on the subject.

My position is that if the scientific community is correct and the deniers, such as the Ohio General Assembly, continue to prevail, the world faces a scenario of disappearing resources and and a dying planet. On the other hand, in the unlikely event that a overwhelming percent of climate scientists are wrong, the world faces an increased cost of dong business. The choice seems obvious to me. But, hey, that's just me, a guy that worries about what kind of world we leave for our grandchildren and their children. The simple fact that it took millions of years for nature to create and store carbon that humans have released in a mere century should be sufficient to any rational person to wonder about the results.

The climate issue has become a political wedge issue for some reason. Those on the right act as if the entire matter was a plot by crooked scientists to cause great damage to the world economy.

As with most contested policies a, “follow the money”, process is in order. The largest family owned fossil fuel energy business, Koch, has quietly funneled millions of dollars to climate denier front groups. A cursory check on google reveals much more on the family's activities. Our own Ohio legislature passed into law a Koch/ALEC written and sponsored legislation delaying an alternate energy requirement passed by a previous assembly.

Paul Hunter

How Could This Happen?

Quaker Apartments on Prairie Ave. in Wilmington, has for many years, received government subsidies in order to cover rental costs for low income senior citizens and handicapped persons.

Over the years a client waiting list for admittance has guaranteed a full capacity situation.

For unexplained reasons the facility has become a financial disaster as indicated by the amount of delinquent property taxes of $83,000 as of 6/1/15. See:

http://clintonoh.ddti.net/Data.aspx?ParcelID=290160910000000

This facility is thought to be indebted to the city for more than $200,000 resulting from a loan made sometime in the past. When asked at a recent council meeting concerning this never mentioned deal, the city auditor responded by stating that “they had written off the loan”.

It is my understanding that there are ongoing negotiations to resolve the debt but public information is hard to come by on this matter.

The present listed manager of the property for the owners, Quaker Apartments of Wilmington Inc., is SKW Management. This firm also manages the other Quaker associated senior apartments on Prairie Ave. commonly known as Prairie View ($152,000 delinquent tax) and Friendly Center ($117,000 delinquent tax).

As of this posting SKW is listed by the Better Business Bureau as “no longer in business”

It is unknown by me that if a Quaker Apartments bankruptcy occurs the city will be able to obtain a debt settlement.

The loan in question came from the city's revolving loan fund that is used as a small business development tool and repayment history has been good except for this secretive affair.

Paul Hunter  

Note To State Senator Peterson

What possible rationale leads the Senate to the conclusion that Granny does not need an affordable, available and easy to use means of communication  for emergency and family contact.
Re: Ohio budget would let phone companies end landlines
Paul Hunter

Additional Cardboard Recycling Information

Not mentioned in the WNJ article on Wilmington recycling was the the plan to allow non city residents and commercial entities to also dispose of clean, flat, corrugated cardboard at the drop off point near the landfill office.

Remember, you are not just saving finite resources, adding useful life the current landfill cell but also helping to keep solid waste fees at the current reasonable levels.

It is estimated that the effect on the environment of recycling one ton of cardboard saves about nine cubic yards of landfill space, 700 gallons of water and forty six gallons of oil.

Paul Hunter  

But We Balanced the Budget

Q. How does the Ohio state legislature hope to do this while cutting taxes for the wealthy?

A. By increasing taxes on the working poor via a regressive increased sales and a regressive potential flat tax of 3.5%.
A. By reducing spending on services. Try getting help from an under staffed and over worked income tax department.
A. By reducing income tax sharing with local governments 40% since 2008. One result is the deteriorating infrastructure like city streets.
A. Increasing property taxes for all residential property owners by12.5% and some senior citizen property taxes by an added 25%.                                    
A. Planed action such as this:

Ohio Senate’s budget plan may leave kids vulnerable, advocates say. Some of Ohio’s most vulnerable children could be forced to get by with less help from the state, even though Ohio already ranks dead last in child-protection funding. County children services agencies will lose $17 million over the biennium following the state’s elimination of reimbursements for tangible personal property-tax revenue. In addition, the Senate version of the upcoming two-year state budget slashes $600,000 in state aid for child-protection services from the House-passed plan.

Ah, the beauty of a single party government, led by a house speaker that owes little to his apathetic constituency. No checks no balance

Paul Hunter

Kasich Flirts With Flat Tax

Beware presidential wanabes seeking big money donations. After all, the working poor wont/can't contribute to campaigns against their own interests. Can Kasich say “income inequality”? I didn't think he could.
From the DDN: As he toys with running for president, Gov. John Kasich also is flirting with another idea: Backing a variation of magazine publisher Steve Forbes’ plan to overhaul the federal tax code[by instituting a flat tax]. If he follows his Ohio model he would also include a sales tax at the federal level.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/encyclopedia/Flat-Tax.cfmA central issue in tax reform is always who wins and who loses. Under the
flat tax, low-income households would lose because they now pay no income
tax and are eligible for a refundable EITC of up to $3,370. Although the
flat tax is more progressive than a VAT [sales tax], it is more regressive than the
current system. A flat tax would provide huge gains for high-income
households because their marginal tax rate would fall..... As a result, if
a flat tax were to raise as much revenue as the current system, the tax
burden for the middle class would have to rise. Consumption taxes would raise tax burdens on lower-and middle-income households over any time frame.
Posted by Paul Hunter

Backward Facing Ohio

Ohio's Government leaves the state even further behind the world's efforts in the climate change battle.

From the NY Times.

A victory for environmentalists.

Norway's Parliament is expected today to drop investments in coal companies from its $900 billion sovereign wealth fund because of their impact on climate change.

The vote is part of a growing movement to divest out of fossil fuels.

If You Voted

For a potential two mill dedicated street repair tax levy next November, and the ballot issue passed how much would it cost you?

If you are a renter it would not cost you anything if the landlord absorbed the small tax increase.

If you are an owner of a home valued at $100,000 the cost would be less than $6 per month.

If you are a senior citizen home owner that meets the qualifications noted below

the tax increase would, for most seniors, be under $5 per month.

Note: Homeowners who turned 65 before January 1, 2014 are qualified for the discount for the rest of their lives. Those turning 65 on Jan. 1 or later only qualify if their adjusted incomes are below $30,500, excluding Social Security.

If city council decides to opt for a one quarter percent increase in the earnings (income) tax ballot issue instead of a property tax, a household with a $50,000 taxable income would pay an additional $10.50 per month.

If you have an interest in this matter please contact city council at 382-5458 or bwoods@ci.wilmington.oh.us

Paul Hunter budhunter@frontier.com