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We’re the bad guys now, in two years…
Buchy: Revitalizing our State
By Bob Robinson
Editor
GREENVILLE – This year’s biennium budget is going to be “short term
pain” but will have “long term gain.”
State Rep. Jim Buchy (Dist. 77) told members and guests at The Darke
County Republican Men’s Club Saturday that dealing with Ohio’s budget
woes will be a painful process and it isn’t likely that many are going
to be thanking them… now.
He noted that he created his own “lion’s den” when he set up the three
forums in his district to discuss Senate Bill 5, the first one at
Memorial Hall the previous week. He expected people to have concerns
and ask questions, and that’s what happened.
He noted, however, that he hadn’t really expected union members to be
carted in from as far away as New York.
He gave a brief overview of how the unions got their foothold in the
government. In 1983, Dick Celeste was elected governor, beating his
Republican opponent Clarence “Bud” Brown. According to Buchy, it was in
large part due to a promise to Ohio’s unions that in return for their
support he would get them the right to Collective Bargaining.
“Senate Bill 133 was the reward for that support,” Buchy said. “I voted
against it, but it still passed.”
The previous administration had obtained a “temporary” 50 percent
income tax increase to deal with a budget shortfall… Buchy noted that
everybody knows there is no such thing as a “temporary tax increase.”
Celeste kept that in place and added another 40 percent increase, for
an income tax hike of 90 percent.
“In 1983, the General Budget was $12.7 billion. Now it’s $51 billion.
Education was $5 billion. Now it’s $16.5 billion. Medicaid was $3
billion. Now it’s $19 billion.
“When inflation is taken into account, Ohio is increasing spending 2.5
to 3 times faster than the rate of inflation,” Buchy said.
“We’ve lost five seats in the U.S. Congress. We’ve lost overall 610,000
jobs… that’s $14 billion in payroll, folks!”
Ohio is not growing like other states. People leave for better
opportunities. He said Ohio is now the 7th highest taxed state in the
country and it is still out of money.
“We have a shortfall of $8 billion from the current budget, and we owe
the feds another $2.4 billion for borrowed unemployment benefits,” he
said.
He noted that Gov. John Kasich is adamant. He will not raise taxes.
“We have to get people back to work,” Buchy said. “We have to generate
dollars. That’s the engine that drives the train.”
Do we want free enterprise or socialism? he asked. The plan is free
enterprise.
Buchy talked about Common Sense initiatives, noting that those two
words are not typically recognized in government.
“We want to revamp how government works, get public workers to be
consumer oriented. We gave schools relief from unfunded mandates…
“The big one, though,” he said, “is SB5, the first legislation to be
enacted regarding unions since 1983. This will lower the cost to
schools and other local governments.”
Buchy said that in the private sector the “boss” and the “worker” work
together to achieve what is best for all concerned. With collective
bargaining, it’s an “us vs them” philosophy.
Buchy said that here in Darke County, and throughout Ohio, we have the
highest percentage of nuclear families in the country. We have a “great
quality of life.” Ohio is an ideal place to live, but we have to have
the opportunities for those who want them.
“Our goal is to create a ‘job and profit creating’ climate.”
In response to a number of comments made by those in attendance, Buchy
said he didn’t see his job as “Saving our State” but rather
“Revitalizing our State.”
“Right now, we’re the bad guys,” he said. “Two years from now, we’ll be
the good guys.”
That’s the plan, anyway.
Several Republican elected officials talked about the state of affairs
in their offices… Darke County Commissioners Diane Delaplane and Mike
Stegall; Clerk of Courts Cindy Pike; Auditor Carol Ginn, Prosecuting
Attorney Kelly Ormsby; Greenville City Councilmen Todd Oliver and Doug
Schmidt; Greenville Mayor Mike Bowers and Wayne Lakes Mayor Gary Young.
The Darke County Republican Men’s Club meets at 8 a.m. the third
Saturday of every month in the Employee Cafeteria of Brethren
Retirement Community. Meetings are open to the public and the Club is
always looking for new members who are interested in advancing the
objectives of the Republican Party and supporting Republicans seeking
public office.
The next meeting will be April 16. Scheduled guest speaker is Ohio
Director of Agriculture Jim Zehringer.
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