Harp Huggers Hug Their Last On Cloud Nine

Posted on August 9, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Many people still believe heaven will be like an eternal yoga on cloud nine. That is for those who find peace and relaxation through meditation. Western tradition pictures heaven as reclining on a white fluffy cloud enjoying eternal serenity while hugging a golden harp. While hugging one’s golden harp, people believe that by strumming a lively golden strings to the divine rhythm of heaven they will experience greater joy. All of this bliss is magnified by the soothing radiance of heavenly light.

Yes, it is a boring vision of man as an island–a western view of autonomous man in heaven. Autonomous man is left alone in peace by everyone, even God, to enjoy eternal life without government interference. It is an egalitarian vision because everyone that is worthy of heaven gets to enjoy their own rest and relaxation to the same everlasting degree as every other person on their own cloudy oasis. What could be more fair that that?

I have bad news for all those harp huggers. It ain’t so. Sorry to have to burst another bubble–the current economic one is depressing enough; but turning a blind eye to a false vision would be a great disservice. Exposing the false hopes, false dreams, or blinding darkness–however bright with hope may seem–is supposed to be the duty of writers.

The puffy idea that people who do more good than harm are worthy of own their own cloud doesn’t hold water. The whole concept is merely evaporated hope based on a false premise of justice and fairness. As the gospels teach us, do-gooders are no more worthy of heaven than the scum of the earth. Why? One sin is counted as a bad as all sins. Because we all have or will sin, the stain on our do-goodism can not be removed–no even with White Cloud. The only detergent capable of removing that stain, the shame, or the statutory claim against our moral wrongs is the sinless blood of a lamb or rather of the sinless son of God, Jesus of Nazareth.

That’s the gist of the gospel preached by Pastor Jon.

Can preachers like Jon and their gospel be wrong? It is claimed that they are. It is claimed that there are many ways to heaven whatever it really is. It is claimed that the exclusiveness of the gospels is dead wrong, but is it?

If humans are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26), a collective of humans in society is likely to reflect divine justice as least a little. That being the case, do we humans merely forgive breakers of our great moral laws because we are all really nice guys whose love surpasses the need to protect others in society from breakers of those law? Actually, our system of justice forgives no one for doing more good than the last crime committed that has gone unpunished. Of course, I must give credit to the many secularists who have worked very hard to change our inherent sense of justice, but it stubbornly persists as does the persistence of moral evils performed by once upon a time do-gooders. We human do take into account past good behavior or good citizenship in the process of punishing the guilty, which is usually expressed by leniency. Nevertheless, neither God nor we humans forgive do-good lawbreakers until after they have been duly punished–if then.

The problem is God’s only punishment for sin is death. The soul that sins it shall die, declared the priestly prophet Ezekiel. The wages of sin is death, said the Apostle Paul. Because it is, only death can fully satisfy the demand of divine justice. Thus, the only cloud of serenity humans earn by greater good works than bad is a dark cloud of pending judgment. That is except for the fact that God initiated and accepted the willing sacrifice of sinless living souls on behalf of us guilty humans. (Gen 3:21; 4:4; 8:20-21, etc.) Sacrificed animals, however, are not sufficient to satisfy divine justice fully for one important reason: they are not culpable for sin. Only human commit moral crimes against God’s laws. Only the sacrificial death of a willing and sinless human could possibly satisfy divine justice fully, and only God would be qualified to offer such a sacrifice. The gospel of Jesus, his apostles’ epistles, and the testimonies of those who constitute the Church claim that Jesus is that effectual sacrifice we all need,and the evidence is their moral and God-honoring lifestyle.

Thus, the Jesus-oriented lifestyle is the only one that can lead to heaven.

Jesus freaks are weird dudes because they have given up the Western and Eastern illusions of heaven as either a cloudy bliss of liberalism or an antinomian* free ride to heaven’s gate as the Hale-Bopp comet followers proved. Even if the Boppers made it to the gate, they were likely turned away because they had failed to get the right entry tickets. Jesus freaks, on the other hand, live for the day when they will live in a renewed heaven and earth where God evidently dwells among them. Heaven will be like the new beginning that came at the end of the movie Knowing–only better. For some it will be even better than being able to eat of the fruit of the tree of life again. It will be a techie heaven where humans will continue to invent new technologies, according Pastor Jon. I must note here that Pastor Jon used to work for the computer technology giant IBM. In this heaven, we humans will also continue to enjoy music, singing, worshipping God, exploring and learning, eating good food while discussing with friends and loved ones whatever comes to mind, and other things God created us to do. There will be a great new heath care reform plan too. HMOs, Medicare/Medicaid, doctors, drug companies, their lobbyists, and legislative supporters will no longer exist. In this heaven, no pain will be regarded as great gain. Broken bones due to sports injuries or other forms of play will a thing of the past, and so will wild animals eating or otherwise harming us humans. There will be no weight loss programs or the pain of failure. Who knows, a five-day a week job in which we do work totally unrelated to our training or goals may be no more as well.

Yet, the reality of heaven is hell. At the present, we live between heaven and hell. Some of us experience as much of hell as we ever will. Others, however, experience as much of heaven on earth as they ever will, said Pastor Jon. Destiny is a choice given by God. What one chooses is the only fate there is. Eternal life in heaven or hell is the final consequence of our earthly choices. This is a fact backed by the testimonies of many who have died and who came back to life to share with doctors, researches, and us ordinary folk what they experienced on the other side. You may have heard of Don Piper who has discussed his ninety minutes in heaven publicly and who has been written down in a book by the same title. It is worth reading, and so is choosing to follow Jesus to heaven.

Those who will not be there include the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers, isolators, and all liars. (Rev. 21:8) I wonder how many people in modern business, sales, education, media, politics, or mainstream religion will make it above the cloudy illusions of success, influence or wealth to heaven?

* Antinomian is the rejection of all moral law and human accountability for it. Those who hold this view are of the illusion that Christ as the end of the law for salvation means grace is the end of all accountability to moral law rather than the means to fulfilling it. As such, grace is the equivalent of lawlessness.

Paraphrased quotes of Senior Pastor Jon Young came from this my own less than perfect memory of his Sunday morning sermon at Dayton Avenue Baptist Church on August 9, 2009

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Ohioans challenging Gov. Strickland’s Slot Machine Gambling to Ohio Supreme Court

Posted on August 7, 2009 by | Leave a comment

On Friday July 23, LetOhioVote.Org filed a Writ of Mandamus with the Ohio Supreme Court directly challenging Governor Ted Strickland’s plan to place up to 17,500 video slot machines at Ohio horse race tracks without a vote of the people.

In the writ, LetOhioVote.Org committee members Tom Brinkman, Gene Pierce and David Hansen asked the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold the right of referendum on this issue. Further, the committee seeks the Court’s affirmation of the peoples’ constitutional right to vote on the video slot machine scheme. If the committee’s effort succeeds, the issue will be placed before voters in November 2010, and the slot machine rollout will be halted pending that vote.

“In 2006, nearly 57 percent of Ohioans opposed placing video slot machines at horse race tracks,” Pierce said. “If Governor Strickland and legislative leaders believe their plan is better than the one the voters already rejected, they ought to make their case directly to the people. Simply ignoring a public vote should not be an option.”

“The governor and legislative leaders should have the courage to place this issue before the voters,” former state representative Brinkman said. “They didn’t have the nerve to cut government, but they freely violate the expressed will of the people? Well, we say ‘not so fast.'” Brinkman is the co-founder of COAST, a Cincinnati-based taxpayer advocacy group.

“Placing video slot machines at struggling race tracks is nothing more than giving wealthy track owners a huge government bailout,” Hansen added. “It’s the same old story; they can’t make their business profitable so they turn to government. Any way you look at it, it’s bad economics and bad government.”

In 2007, Governor Strickland said, “The people of Ohio have spoken with a clear voice on this issue time and time again. They do not want an expansion of gambling in their state.” “The people deserve another opportunity to speak with a clear voice on this issue,” Pierce concluded.

Joining the fight against Strickland’s violation of Ohioans constitutional rights was Buckeye Institute’s 1851 Center for Constitutional Law. The 1851 Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of Ohio Citizen Action, Citizens in Charge and the Ohio Freedom Alliance. The brief urges the court to find language in the state budget excluding the authorization of video slot machines from referendum unconstitutional.

“The referendum process outlined in the Ohio Constitution is sacrosanct and must be tread upon lightly,” said Maurice Thompson, director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law. “Ironically, in seeking to arbitrarily and unconstitutionally deprive the people of Ohio of their right to Referendum, the General Assembly accentuates the very reason why Initiative and Referendum are so vital to Ohio’s governance.”

The brief points out that the right to referendum was added by amendment to the Ohio Constitution in 1912 to “serve as a check on the General Assembly by permitting laws, or parts of laws passed is that body to be submitted to voters for their approval or rejection.” In addition the brief cites that the Ohio Supreme Court has, on multiple occasions, upheld the right to a referendum as a staple of democracy in Ohio and should do so again on this issue.

Commentary: In 2006, slot machines gambling (Keno) was voted down by Ohio voters. It was called the Learn and Earn Initiative (Issue 3). Ohioans did learn how much rich track and bar owners would gain and how little school children would gain if passed. Moreover, Ohioans learned that shyster politicians, race track and bars owners were attempting make profits their Constitutionally guaranteed right. Those were reasons Ohio voters said NO to the Keno gambling initiative, a second step to justifying casino gambling. (The first step was allowing the lottery.)

The real issue then is not whether voters have a right of referendum, but a right to have their vote actually count. Ohio citizens made a valid constitutional decision about slot machine gambling at race tracks and other establishments. The decision was NO. No contingency exists–like the State budget deficit–that can negate the common consent of Ohio voters.

The issue created by Gov. Strickland and his legislative supporters amounts to the worse kind of political misbehavior. For they blatantly violate the rights Ohio citizens, oppose their Constitutional powers, and thumb their noses at the will of Ohioans. I do not see any other way to stop politicians of their ilk other than a swift and permanent removal from public office.

In the private sector, it is called being fired.

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Xenians working for murals

Posted on August 6, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Starting from a small informal interest group in late 2007, the Xenia Mural Society soon became a component of the non-profit Greene County Community Foundation (Greene Giving). They have gathered ideas, information, and opinions about murals in other cities and found that tastefully done murals are seen as a very positive addition to a community. They have set as their goal the creation of a significant number of murals in Xenia over time.

The XMS is now moving forward cautiously with the preliminary goal of facilitating the creation of one mural for Xenia in 2010. The theme for the first mural will be “Trails,” a very broad concept which will encompass many of the historical factors which make Xenia unique: Railroads, Bike Trails, even early buffalo trails. They have chosen four very nice designs and will be getting full color renderings by mid-August and choosing a winning design in time for Xenia’s Old Fashioned Days in late September. Enthusiasm for the mural project is growing in Xenia.

Several building owners are interested in hosting the first mural. Sadly, they do not have funds to independently finance a large mural. You may go online to their website: www.XeniaMurals.org to get an idea of how a first mural may look.

With support of grants from the Ohio Arts Council and Greene Giving, the Xenia Mural Society has been able to organize and to secure the final design winner’s prize. “We are convinced that this is a worthwhile project that will improve our city for many years to come, says spokesperson Alan King.

Below is one a colorful mural by of the finalists, Olivia Anderson.

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Xenia City “No New Taxes” Levy Passes … Ha! Ha!

Posted on August 4, 2009 by | 1 comment

While discussing the levy yesterday, a fellow Xenian informed me that the operating levy was originally supposed to be temporary. You know he was 100 percent correct. The temporary operating levy lasted 5 years; and, like Arby’s 5-for-$5 deal, Xenia voters renewed the temporary levy for another five.

The 490,000 dollar question is this: Does the definition for temporary in tax levy terminology every mean permanently ended–as in no more? The traditional answer seems to be not on your life. In tax jargon, a temporary tax is synonymous for a permanent tradition. The federal goverment’s temporary wartime welfare program, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA and now “No Child Left Behind”), and similar tax and spend programs are prime examples of permanently temporary tax programs. it was one of of those life-long career goals of politicians like Senator Edward Kennedy.

Anyway, as reported by Greene County Board of Election, 72 percent of Xenia voters said YES to a renewal of the city’s operating levy and 23 percent said NO way.

My vote counted for 5/100 of a percent, which means almost nothing.
The real troubling statistics is that only 7.4 percent of voters showed up at the polls. Out of 28,349 registered voters, only 2,103 voted. It is no wonder why the proponents of the levy–city and school employees and dummies like me–won by such a huge margin. Maybe, the other 92.6 thought it was not worth risking the possibility of being drowned or struck by lightening or some similar hazard. Or, maybe their fear or lackadaisical outlook was really just a silent way of supporting the levy. Some might even in a nose thumbing kind of way have been exclaiming who cares!

Well, I care because the good news for me is that the crappy turn out increased the political significance of my vote. Instead of my vote being of only 5/100 percent relevance, it rose to a statically significant 67/100 of a percent.

As you can see, my political ego has been boosted to a level of almost being significant in the bigger off-season special election scheme of things. But, at least, it was good for a few laughs…well, maybe, but you should have been there.

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Posted in city services, economy, news, politics, taxes, Xenia

Signs of the Times : Why Support No New Taxes on August 4

Posted on July 30, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Daniel Downs

The signs are all around. Like flashing yellow and red stoplights, they remind us of the potential danger that lies ahead.

What danger?

In a popular Republic such as ours, participation in politics is a requirement. The continuation of our freedom and prosperity depends on it. The maintenance of those common benefits provided by elected government requires our time and consideration, and so do our local services like police and fire.

The yellow signs present us with the need to be cautious. On one hand, a danger exists that Xenia residents may loose quality of police, fire, or other tax funded services. The reduction of police, fire, or other personnel is an issue the current recession has forced upon the city. This threat is more likely to become reality if the proposed operating levy renewal is rejected.

On a national scale, signs of our times speak of big socialistic government, increasingly huge federal debt, and subsequently more taxes. These trends signal a negative economic future for us all. This alone should cause us to give greater consideration to best methods of dealing with local effects.

To some, those yellow and red signs sprouting up everywhere also portend more taxes. Unlike the new taxes proposed by liberals on Capitol Hill and the last proposed operating levy, this operating levy renewal is reasonable. No New Taxes is the big red promise of city officials and their yellow signs.

While liberals are burying the national economy with debt, our local economy is depressed along with the state coffers. As amazing as it may seem, our elected city officials do get it. That is why all of them just want the operating levy renewed.

According to City Manager Jim Percival, the levy renewal will only generate $409,000 in revenue. If we look at the big picture, we will see the operating levy generating a mere 2.3 percent of the total general fund revenue, which was $14.5 million in 2007. General fund revenue includes the municipal income tax (56.6%), other local taxes (9.6%), taxes shared by other county and state government (13.2%), charges for services not considered as enterprise (water and trash) (10.1%), fines, licenses, and permits (6.6%), intergovernmental grants (1.3%), and miscellaneous receipts (2.7%). If we consider just direct taxes, we will see the operating levy only generating a meager 3.3 percent. In 2007, direct taxes were $12.3 million.

Another important figure to keep in mind on August 4 is the year-end general fund balance. At the end of 2007, it was over $1 million. This substantial sum probably is included in the $3 million reserve fund that is required by Ohio law. I suspect the reserve exists to cover unexpected situations like major infrastructure failure, recessions, failed tax levies, and the like.

A legitimate question bouncing around in my cranium is this: If there is so much excess revenue, why should I support the levy? I can think of several reasons:

One very important reason is that the operation levy renewal will not increase current taxes. Another is a decrease in tax revenues. This decrease in city tax revenue is the glorious result of the engineered recession by liberal bureaucrats. The decrease is the outcome of increased unemployment among Xenia residents. As a result, city income tax revenue is down 5.6 percent or $204,000, according to Finance Director Mark Bazelak. It is also likely to cause a decrease in shared tax revenues as indicated by decreases in County property and income tax revenues and personnel reductions. All of which illustrates the city’s need for the operating levy revenue.

During a recent city council meeting, one elected official said the city would not have enough money to cover all operating expenses even with the operating levy renewal. Although she didn’t elaborate on the issue, I suspect planned increases in union wages and benefits accounts for the anticipate lack. While government union employee pay may be increasing above inflation, the income of many non-union employees in private industry is not. To the degree this remains the case, a proper response of affected taxpayers should be who cares. Why should we care about government salary increases or about the union contract law? Increases in government employee pay means more new taxes. If the city can attract more new residents and profitable businesses, more new tax revenues will flow into the city’s coffers eliminating the need for more new taxes. Besides, citizens do not exist either for the high cost of government programs or for the profits of low paying corporate millionaires or billionaires.

Like all Americans, what Xenia taxpayers need is real change. If it ever happens, the addition of new taxes for improved services and/or infrastructure will be a non-issue. Until then, I still think maintaining the city’s operating levy revenue will benefit us all.

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Alternative to Fair Tax

Posted on July 29, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Andy Myers

I’m not a proponent of the fair tax, and yes that makes me a target as was the case this past weekend at the gun and knife show. Our state sovereignty and audit the Federal Reserve booth was very well received by those who understand that our 2nd amendment rights come from a power higher than government, and we had well over 500 people sign our petitions. The NRA booth was next to ours and along with plugging the NRA to which I’d rather support GOA and the Buckeye Firearms Institute, he was plugging the Fair Tax. Most people familiar with the fair tax already know the details, so I would like to offer a “constitutional” alternative to the debate.

How about something that goes back beyond the fair tax all the way to June 2, 1944. The Liberty Amendment is an idea of Willis E. Stone, an industrial engineer. Born in Denver Colorado, who was a descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the philosopher, and of Thomas Stone, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. As space in this letter is limited, I will paraphrase in the hopes that those who “understand the root of the problem is a federal government that has thrown aside the rules in which it was delegated.” will understand what the Liberty Amendment is about.

The Constitution is very specific in what powers the “sovereign states” granted it. And, there is a “proper and legal” way of changing it if need be. But our government disregards this process, for which they “swore an oath to” and continues to chain the people to a certain future of despotism. Stone’s Liberty Amendment on the other hand has been designed to fight all the multitude of apparently different battles at once, and win by “restoring the Constitution to full force and effect.” Once the Amendment is applied, a multitude of diversified battles will be won. The one thing about this proposal I disagree with is calling for a constitutional convention as this could likely lead to something far worse than what we could imagine. That is another subject that can not be adequately address in this letter.

The 4 sections of the Liberty Amendment are as follows:

Section 1. The Government of the United States shall not engage in any business, professional, commercial, financial or industrial enterprise except as specified in the Constitution.

Section 2. The constitution or laws of any State, or the laws of the United States shall not be subject to the terms of any foreign or domestic agreement which would abrogate this amendment.

Section 3. The activities of the United States Government which violate the intent and purpose of this amendment shall, within a period of three years from the date of the ratification of this amendment, be liquidated and the properties and facilities affected shall be sold.

Section 4. Three years after the ratification of this amendment the sixteenth article of amendments to the Constitution of the United States shall stand repealed and thereafter Congress shall not levy taxes on personal incomes, estates, and/or gifts. Henry David Thoreau once said, “There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”

Please go to www.libertyamendment.com and let us strike at the root of the problems being created by an out-of-control federal government.

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Ohio Supreme Court endangers children, violates parental rights, and supports the violation of law and decency

Posted on July 28, 2009 by | 1 comment

On July 1, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld an earlier decision that allows Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Ohio (PP) to keep secret their reports documenting whether or not PP is notifying authorities of instances of statutory rape of pregnant minors seeking abortion services at the Cincinnati clinic.

The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments last October on this issue after granting a Motion for Rehearing which was brought by attorneys for Jane Roe.

In Roe v. Planned Parenthood, the parents of Roe allege PP employees breached their legal duties when they failed to notify the proper authorities of the young girl’s sexual victimization by the 22-year-old male who brought her to the clinic. They further allege that PP violated Ohio’s parental involvement laws by failing to notify or get consent from them before performing the abortion on their 14-year-old daughter.

Attorney for Jane Roe, Brian Hurley, states about the decision, “We respectfully disagree with and are disappointed in the decision. It allows Planned Parenthood, under the pretext of protecting privacy rights, to prevent anyone from reviewing its redacted records to determine the truth of what many people believe is Planned Parenthood’s policy and practice of violating its duty to report suspected or known sexual abuse of minors. We believe that the protection Ohio provides to its sexually abused children has been significantly weakened and parents’ rights to protect their children from abuse have been undermined. We agree with Judge Donovan’s assessment that the decision is neither just nor reasonable.1

I agree with Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, who said,

“It’s hypocritical for the Ohio Supreme Court to be concerned about the privacy of girls receiving abortions at Planned Parenthood when, by keeping the redacted, anonymous records secret, it is in fact protecting the privacy of older men who abuse underage teens. The Court, by its decision, is enabling and perpetuating injustice.”2

Lila Rose, 20-year-old UCLA student and president of the non-profit Live Action, caught on tape Planned Parenthood workers breaking state laws requiring prompt reporting of statutory rape and parental consent laws.

Lila Rose went undercover at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Birmingham and told a counselor that she was 14-years-old, pregnant by her 31-year-old “boyfriend.” Rose said she needed a secret abortion so her parents would not find out about her sexual relationship with the older man.

After telling the counselor that her “boyfriend” is 31, Rose asks, “Is it a problem about my boyfriend?” The counselor, identified as “Tanisha” in the video, responds, “As long as you consented to having sex with him, there’s nothing we can truly do about that.” Rose then says that her boyfriend “said he could get in big trouble,” and Tanisha acknowledges that “he could, especially if your parents find out that he’s 31.” She then tells Rose that the clinic manager, OB/GYN Dr. Desiree Bates, “sometimes does bend the rules a little bit” and states that “whatever you tell us stays within these walls” and “we can’t disclose any information to anybody.”

Alabama code 26-14-3 requires health professionals to disclose suspected cases of sexual abuse to state officials immediately.

“The law is explicit about a healthcare provider’s duty to report, yet Planned Parenthood pretends they cannot say anything,” Rose notes of the investigation. “Planned Parenthood increases its business and influence by circumventing state reporting laws, but inflicts terrible harm upon the vulnerable young girls sent back to statutory rapists.”

In the video, Tanisha also seems to tell Rose that a signature from an “older sister that’s over the age of 18” or someone “with the same last name” could function as a substitute for parental consent so Planned Parenthood could perform an abortion on a minor. Alabama Code 26-21-3 specifies that the written permission of either a parent or legal guardian is necessary before a minor may obtain an abortion.

The new video is sixth in Live Action’s Mona Lisa Project, a nationwide undercover investigation that documents Planned Parenthood’s repeated noncompliance with state mandatory reporting laws for sexual abuse of minors. Alabama is the fourth state to be implicated in the controversy, along with Arizona, Indiana, and Tennessee.3

While Alabama's Attorney General is taking legal action, YouTube is banning this public evidence of Planned Parenthood's crimes. Are YouTube executives politically correct leftists or are they being strong armed by the Left's politicians and corporate members who are leading the drive help PP regain taxpayer funding for its baby-killing services? Because they are owned by Google, the ban on Rose's video is without a doubt politically motivated. Another reason for YouTube censorship is their executives partnership with billionaire George Soros, the global fund raiser for all thing Left like anti-Catholicism and abortion-on-demand.

Breaking state or federal laws is not limited to organizations like Planned Parenthood. Members of the Left seem to always break the law in order to achieve their agendas. It is no surprise that leftist politicians-at-law draped with black robes sitting high at the bar of justice collude with their associates. The false high wall doctrine of church-state separation was the beginning upon which all of the Left's goals have been achieved. Roe v Wade and all similar court decision– Roe v. Planned Parenthood–is merely one lethal example. Parents killing their unborn children is not a privacy right found in the US Constitution, but protecting life is.

References:

1   Christian Newswire, July 2, 2009.
2   Christian Newswire, July 3, 2009.
3   Live Action, June 30, 2009.

Lila Rose’s video can be viewed online at liveaction.org/alabama

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Voters’ Voices Are Silenced By The Ohio General Assembly

Posted on July 27, 2009 by | 1 comment

By The Ohio Council of Churches

For the past 20 years, Ohio voters have repeatedly said NO to expanding gambling. Two out of the past three years despite millions of dollars spent on advertising by gambling corporations, the voters have overwhelmingly voted No. Therefore, one has to ask the question why would a Governor, who has repeatedly spoken about the dangers of gambling, suddenly announce that he was supporting slot machines at Ohio’s seven horse racing tracks? Searching for new revenues to help fill a $3.2 billion hole in the 2010-11 biennial budget Strickland believes that this decision will create $933 million in the next two years.

If we step back from the rising pressure of falling Ohio tax revenues and rising unemployment, what are the probably impacts of such a decision? The seven racetracks are only required to pay $13 million of their $65 million license fee in the initial year. Therefore, they won’t have to begin any construction or expend any major funding until the November election when voters will decide the fate of Penn National’s casino proposal. The racetrack slots are not scheduled to begin until May 2010 with only two months remaining in the fiscal year. If the owners of the seven tracks decide that competition with the casinos will reduce the profitability outcome for them, they can withdraw from any further payments to the state and discontinue their plans to install slots at their tracks. Robert Griffin, owner of Scioto Downs racetrack, said they are willing to pay the initial $13 million, but questions if they will go ahead and put something in the ground if the casinos ballot issue passes in November.

Half of the total is based upon a $65 million license fee from each of the seven racetracks creating a total of $455 million. However, they are not required to pay the total up front. The racetracks originally asked for a claw-back provision that would allow them to get any license fees that they have paid back if the casino ballot issue passes in November. The legislature has since removed this option. This indicates that the horse tracks may not be in this agreement beyond November and all the $933 million may not materialize.

Warren county commissioners have remarked that they are opposed to gambling on the fairgrounds and it is very unlikely that the Lebanon racetrack there will participate in the slot machine opportunity. This reduces the $933 million estimate by at least $100 million.

The Governor’s decision seems to have been born out of the pressure to fill a $3.2 billion hole in Ohio’s biennial budget. But as is often the case in most decisions made in haste, this one is based on faulty suppositions. Another potential problem is that the compromise reached by the Governor must provide authorization for the slot machines at the racetracks by Executive Order with the House and Senate providing some enabling legislation. The American Policy Roundtable in Cleveland, an anti-gambling organization, has announced their intentions to challenge the action in the Ohio Supreme Court as violating Ohio’s Constitution by allowing casino –style gambling without a statewide vote of the people. They will seek an injunction to prevent the gambling of slots until a ruling by the court. At the very least, this could markedly reduce the revenue for this biennium. It took Pennsylvania three years to handle political hearings and court cases before they could get their first dime from the slots.

I haven’t even mentioned the fact that the economy has severely reduced the revenues in gambling establishments across the country and the Midwest is now exception. The Governor’s budget representatives provided information to legislative committees that each slot machine could deliver over $200 per machine each day. However, the representative from coin industry advocating for the bars and taverns said that the University of Cincinnati study indicated that each slot machine could anticipate $76 per machine. Obviously the large difference in potential funding could drastically reduce the total amount that the racetrack slots could provide the lottery and Ohio’s budget shortfall.

Finally, Ohio law requires that profits from the lottery must be utilized only by Ohio’s primary and secondary education directly and cannot be supplanted for other purposes. Therefore, court action could be initiated if the Lottery Commission tries to transfer profits to the general fund to cover some portion of the state’s financial budget hole.

The Ohio Council of Churches joins with the large majority of faith-based organizations including mainline, conservative and independent churches in strongly opposing the expansion of gambling because of the many negative impacts on communities, families and individuals. But even among those who favor gambling, many can’t support a monopoly for one business or gambling company. The majority of Ohioans oppose putting them into Ohio’s Constitution as the only ones allowed. This is all done without a competitive bid to give Ohio taxpayers a fair share of the profits. Voters remember that only last year, the Governor authorized a Keno game projected to raise $73 million a year. Eleven months later, Keno has produced just $30 million according to Ohio Lottery officials.

The Columbus Dispatch makes the most salient point in an editorial calling the slots a bad deal for Ohio. Because Ohio’s current budget contains $5 billion in stimulus one-time monies, they point out that even if the slots perform as suggested the next biennium will be $4 billion short in the 2012-13 budget. The editorial says, “In the name of balancing the budget, Strickland is asking Ohioans to subject themselves to a parasitic industry, knowing full-well that it will not begin to solve the state’s long-term fiscal problems. Most of the devastating cuts to Ohio’s safety net will still not be funded in this biennium budget and the next without the $5 billion stimulus funds the outlook is even bleaker.

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Artwork of Melissa Faulkner-Vanzant at Express Yourself

Posted on July 23, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Imagine drips, dramatic color combinations, and girlish icons scattered across a field of pastel stripes. A broad range of techniques grace the score of canvasses at a new exhibit by Melissa Faulkner-Vanzant at Express Yourself Coffeehouse & Art Gallery. Melissa was born and raised in Xenia and graduated from Wright State University’s School of Fine Arts. Sculpture was her preferred mode of expression during her college years, but she has found that painting allows her to better “express my love of color and interest in geometric shapes.” Over the last few years her works have been displayed in galleries and shows in Dayton and Yellow Springs to positive reviews.

M_VanzantArtThe public is invited to view the artwork and meet Melissa Faulkner-Vanzant in person at a “Meet the Artist” reception to be held at Express Yourself on Saturday, July 25. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served from 2-4 PM. All of the works are for sale and many are very reasonably priced. Her paintings will be on display through August 1 during regular lunch hours Monday through Saturday at Express Yourself Coffeehouse and Art Gallery, located a block from the courthouse at 78 E. Main St. in downtown Xenia. For hours and information visit ExpressYourselfCoffeehouse.com, phone (937) 372-7446 or by email at xeniacoffee@sbcglobal.net.

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Posted in art, events, Xenia

If Democrat’s Health Surtax Is 5.4 Percent, Taxpayers in Ohio would be among 39 States That Would Pay a Top Tax Rate Over 50%

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By TF Staff

New taxes to fund the federal government’s plan for higher health insurance spending continue to be debated in Washington. According to a new Bloomberg report, the top surtax rate will be 5.4 percent in the House plan. That will be the top rate in a three-tiered surtax aimed at high-income tax returns:

1 percent surtax on AGI between $350,000 and $500,000 (singles between $280,000 and $400,000)

1.5 percent surtax on AGI between $500,000 and $1,000,000 (singles between $400,000 and $800,000)

5.4 percent surtax on AGI beyond $1,000,000 (singles beyond $800,000)

States have been raising taxes on this same group, leading to concern over how high the combined tax rates would be in each state, especially in the growing number of states with double-digit tax rates. Some commentators merely sum the rates at the federal, state and local level to give a statutory total tax rate. A more accurate method is to calculate the effective marginal tax rate, which takes into consideration deductions and adjustments. For a description of the difference between effective marginal tax rates and effective average tax rates, see Average vs. Marginal Tax Rates Revisited.

In Table 1 below we present calculations of the effective marginal tax rate on top earners. We use assume that the 2008 weighted local average for each state applies to 2011, the top federal taxable income rate will rise as scheduled to 39.6 percent, the top state tax rate in each state will follow current 2011 scheduled law, and a new House plan for 5.4 percent surtax on AGI earned at very high-income levels will become law.

Table 1 (Ohio)

Top Effective Marginal Rates under Proposed Health Care Surtax by State

Sorted by Combined Top Tax Rate in 2011

State

Avg. Local Rate

Top
State Rate (2011)

Top Federal Ordinary Rate

New
Surtax

Medicare
Tax

Combined
Top Rate

Rank

Ohio

1.82%

5.93%

39.6%

5.4%

2.9%

54.27%

13

To see rankings of other states, go to the Tax Foundation website.

Commentary

Taxing the rich to pay for free health care is an ploy of the rich and powerful to rob the non-rich of both their freedom and their income. Anyone familiar with Roman history will recognized the strategy. The Roman imperialists tax the nations of the world to pay for their big agendas. Caesar and the Roman Senate taxed the wealthy elites of the respective states. In turn, leaders like Herod increased local taxes on productive peasants. In order to pay, many had to borrow money. When misfortune rendered them unable to pay it back, their land was confiscated. Most were allowed to continue farming the same land as long as they gave Rome via Herod or some other member of the rich elite the required amount, usually over 50 percent.

What this means under the Democrats’ taxing scheme is this: we peasants will end up paying for the huge tax increases of the rich in inflationary costs for products and services. In fact, I recently listened to what Canadians and British people have experienced under universal health care. They have had to endure long waiting lists for care and large increases in overall cost for their health care.

In every respect, universal health care is much more costly than market based care. The highest price for socialist medicine is dying while waiting to receive the promised health care.

One woman with brain cancer was able to come to the Mayo Clinic in America to get the necessary cancer treatment. That is she is suing her government. Had she waited she certainly would have died.

Americans who love the right to life as well as true liberty does not need Democrats’ impoverishing programs or their deadly health care.

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Posted in health, news, Ohio, politics, taxes

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