A Resolution for Economic Growth
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 By Marc KilmerCurrently the state Senate is debating the Governor’s “economic stimulus” package. In reality, this bipartisan spend and borrow mess will do nothing to help the state’s economy, as discussed in Sam Staley’s Viewpoint. Unfortunately, some cities in Ohio are passing resolutions urging the General Assembly to engage in pork barrel spending, reward politically-connected industries, and burden future Ohio taxpayers with debt (of course, they put it somewhat differently). The Gahanna city council, however, is bucking the trend. They voted down a resolution that was promoting the stimulus package and are now considering the resolution below, which advocates steps that would do much more for the state’s economy than anything being discussed in the General Assembly today:
EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION TO GROW OHIO’S ECONOMY.
WHEREAS, Ohio’s economy has been sluggish since the beginning of the decade and is beginning to slow down even more; and
WHEREAS, the American Legislative Exchange Council in 2007 ranked Ohio the fourth worst state in the nation for economic competitiveness, and
WHEREAS, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation has determined that Ohio’s tax system ranks 46th in the nation for business growth, with the state having the third-highest corporate income tax and the sixth-highest personal income tax; and
WHEREAS, states without a “closed shop” labor system have seen their economies grow at far faster rates than states such as Ohio that do not have “right to work” laws;
WHEREAS, Ohio’s tax and regulatory burden led to it ranking 32nd in economic freedom according to the 2006 report Economic Freedom in North America, and
WHEREAS, a 2002 study of the effects of “economic development” on Ohio manufacturing jobs concluded that “Empirical findings indicate that incentives have very little (or even a negative) effect on actual growth.”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That the Council of the City of Gahanna urge the General Assembly and the Governor to renounce their recently proposed package of debt and spending, called by them an “economic development package,” and instead promote economic development by the specific, narrow and well-defined act of reducing Ohio business and personal income taxes as well as reducing the state’s regulatory burden on businesses.
Section 2. That the Council of the City of Gahanna urge the General Assembly and the Governor to enact an Ohio right-to-work law, to provide economic freedom to employees and employers and to encourage employers to add jobs in our state.
Section 3. That this Resolution shall be in full force and effect upon passage by this Council.
Tags: Economy, Free Enterprise, General Assembly, Spending, Stimulus plan
