COLUMBUS, OHIO- In Governor John Kasich’s primetime Republican National Convention speech, he touted his so-called “Ohio story,” about Ohio’s economic comeback. Conveniently, Kasich left out the chapter about Ohio’s near continuous 30 month unemployment decline since January 2010, a full year before he took office.
In fact, Kasich often exaggerates his own record on job creation, sliding past the fact he failed to support the very auto rescue that helped protect nearly 850,000 Ohio jobs tied to the supply chain. Had Ohio followed John Kasich’s lead, or listened to Mitt Romney’s advice to “let Detroit go Bankrupt,” hundreds of thousands of Ohio jobs could have been at risk, including those at parts manufacturers in 80 out of 88 counties spread across the state. Because of President Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown’s bold rescue of the auto industry, these auto jobs remain firmly planted in Ohio, and more investment into Ohio in the Toledo, Lordstown, Parma, and Cleveland and across the state are announced every day.
Rather than protect the auto industry, Governor Kasich has chosen to shower his friends and supporters in corporate welfare, costing Ohio taxpayers millions. In response to Governor Kasich’s misrepresentation of Ohio’s recovery, Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern released the following statement:
“The real Ohio story is that our state’s unemployment rate has been in a near continuous 30-month decline since January 2010, starting a full year before Governor Kasich even took office. But rather than endorsing President Obama’s policies that have supported Ohio’s recovery, like the auto rescue that helped protect nearly 850,000 Ohio jobs tied to the auto industry, Kasich jumped onboard with Mitt Romney’s plan to “let Detroit go bankrupt” which would have harmed auto parts jobs in 80 out of 88 counties.
In fact, Governor Kasich wasted millions in corporate welfare to his friends, so it’s no surprise he’s a big fan of Mitt Romney’s plan to give taxpayer handouts to millionaires and billionaires while working Ohioans foot the bill. Truth be told, Kasich’s “Ohio story” is a fairy tale, and the Buckeye State is recovering in spite of Kasich, not because of him.”
BACKGROUND
Ohio Recovery Began Prior to Kasich Administration Thanks to President Obama, Sen. Sherrod Brown
- The Ohio job recovery began in January 2010, a full year before Kasich took office. Ohio’s unemployment rate began to drop steadily starting in January 2010 from a peak of 10.6%, thanks to the policies of President Obama, and Senator Sherrod Brown. John Kasich did not take office until January 2011. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Retrieved 6/2/12]
- Ohio has witnessed nearly 30 straight months of declining unemployment. Under President Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown’s watch, Ohio’s unemployment rate has seen near continuous drops for 30 months. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Retrieved 8/26/12]
- Kasich Takes credit for Ohio jobs his administration did not create. John Kasich took credit on Fox News for the creation of 45,000 jobs in Ohio since January 2011. PolitiFact Ohio rated his claim as Mostly False, arguing that the governor’s policies have not had time to affect Ohio’s economy, and that those new jobs are due to an upswing in the business cycle. [The Plain Dealer, 9/12/11]
Many of Kasich’s Development Efforts Have Fallen Short
- Ohio Third Frontier invests little of the money it has available to create jobs. Members of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission have agreed that they need the ability to make significant investments in Ohio’s economy, which markedly “contrasts with the slow pace of the commission since Gov. John Kasich took office in 2011.” Third Frontier ended the fiscal year on June 30, 2012, having spent only 20 percent of the $190 million it had on hand. [The Plain Dealer, 8/24/12]
- Despite millions in state aid from Kasich, Bob Evans plans to move facility, jobs. Earlier this year, the Kasich Administration promised Bob Evans nearly $14 million in state development assistance to retain jobs and help the company move their facility from one Ohio city to another. Despite Kasich’s investment, Bob Evans announced this week plans to close two Ohio-based food production plants in 2013, affecting 110 workers. These jobs will be sent to Texas. [The Columbus Dispatch, 3/10/11; The Columbus Dispatch, 5/30/12]
- Kasich snubbed Chiquita and they left Ohio, while his efforts to lure Sears fell short. Kasich put $400 million in state aid on the table in incentives to convince Sears to move its corporate HQ from Chicago to Columbus, while simultaneously offering a pittance of $6 million to keep Chiquita from relocating to Charlotte, NC from Cincinnati. Not only was Kasich unable to persuade Chiquita to remain in Ohio, Kasich failed to convince Sears to leave Illinois. [The Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/1/11; The Charlotte Observer, 11/30/11; The Plain Dealer, 12/14/11]
- Despite $56 million in state aid from Kasich, Diebold plans to send 200 jobs to India. The Kasich Administration promised $56 million in state aid to Diebold to assist with the development of a new corporate headquarters in the Akron/Canton area. Despite the agreement, Diebold still announced its plan to move 200 Ohio-based information technology jobs to India. [Akron Beacon Journal, 4/12/11]
- Despite nearly $100 million in state aid from Kasich, American Greetings slashed 30 jobs. American Greetings received $93.5
million over 15 years in grants, loans, and tax rebates from the state. Notwithstanding state aid, Kasich was unable to stop layoff of 30 employees. [The Plain Dealer, 3/7/11; The Plain Dealer, 2/1/12]
Kasich Failed to Support Auto Rescue that Protected 850,000 Ohio Jobs
- The rescue of auto industry helped protect 850,000 Ohio Jobs. Politifact Ohio confirmed that 850,000 jobs are indeed tied to the auto industry in Ohio. Without the auto rescue, these jobs may have been threatened. [The Plain Dealer, 3/14/12]
- As a talk show pundit, Kasich failed to support the auto rescue. As a guest host on the O’Reilly Factor, talking about the auto rescue, Kasich said, “if they’re not going to be viable, we shouldn’t throw good money after bad.” [O’Reilly Factor, 12/9/08]
- On The Stump, Kasich Criticized Auto Rescue Efforts. Speaking about Americans’ attitude towards politicians at the Lake County Republican Party Convention in August, Kasich said, “So we don’t trust the politicians then we find out there is bunch of them in Washington hatching up these schemes. They’re gonna run an automobile company, they’re gonna tell us which doctor we’re gonna go to.” [Lake County GOP Convention, 8/29/09]
- Kasich: Government Shouldn’t Run a Car Company. At a September Tea Party event in West Chester, Kasich said, “What’s happening is there’s a handful of people who’ve taken control of things for too long who are now trying to be in a position to run our lives, that’s what we don’t want. They want to tell us how to run a car company. They want to tell us how to do medical care. They want to – and they’re bankrupting our children.” [West Chester Tea Party, 9/5/09]
- As recently as May 2012, one of Kasich’s top advisors still expressed opposition to the auto rescue. Doug Preisse is one of Kasich’s top political advisors. In May of 2012, Preisse authored a letter to the editor in the Columbus Dispatch doubling down on Republican opposition to the auto rescue. [The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/29/12; The Columbus Dispatch, 5/26/12]
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