Kasich balances Ohio budget

[GaryG]

The unions are not happy....tough. Teachers have to produce, what a concept. Nice job Gov Kasich.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700148446/Gov-Kasich-signs-sweeping-56B-Ohio-budget.html

[mostpost]

The unions are not happy....tough. Teachers have to produce, what a concept. Nice job Gov Kasich.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700148446/Gov-Kasich-signs-sweeping-56B-Ohio-budget.html
Kasich is a piece of work. Just like all those other moron GOP governors.

From the article.
The 3,262-page bill privatizes five state prisons, overhauls Medicaid, eliminates Ohio's estate tax in 2013, bans most abortions in public hospitals, and ties teachers' pay more closely to student achievement.

privatizes five state prisons,
Who is paying the private company to run the prisons? It has to be the state.
Who has oversight? Arizona has privately run prisons. What did Arizona do recently? It passed the immigration law which is sure to add to the prison population.
eliminates Ohio's estate tax in 2013,
Of course it does. Poor people don't pay an estate tax. More pandering to the wealthy by the GOP.

bans most abortions in public hospitals,
Isn't that what Roe v. Wade says you can't do?

ties teachers' pay more closely to student achievement.

And who decides whether a student's lack of achievement is due to teacher incompetence rather than the students lack of effort or intelligence.

All Kasich and the Ohio GOP has done is shift the burdens from state level to local level; from the rich to the middle class. Privatizing the prisons will end up costing the state more. Reducing state aid to education will hurt the schools and the students. Estate taxes go down. Property taxes go up.

John Kasich is scum; as are Scott Walker, Chris Christie, Rick Scott, and Rick Perry.

[NJ Stinks]

I used to like Ohio. Now I don't even recognize the Ohio I used to know.

[Robert Goren]

Privatizing a state or city run anything is way to increase graft. It always looks good on paper and maybe saves money for a couple of years but in the long run it cost more money.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Privatizing a state or city run anything is way to increase graft. It always looks good on paper and maybe saves money for a couple of years but in the long run it cost more money.

Really? California spends about $128/day/inmate. A few yrs ago they started housing inmates out of state at Corrections Corp (the nation's largest private prison provider) prisons. Corrections Corp charges Cali roughly $70/day.

[Saratoga_Mike]

From the article.
The 3,262-page bill privatizes five state prisons, overhauls Medicaid, eliminates Ohio's estate tax in 2013, bans most abortions in public hospitals, and ties teachers' pay more closely to student achievement.

Who is paying the private company to run the prisons? It has to be the state.
Who has oversight? Arizona has privately run prisons. What did Arizona do recently? It passed the immigration law which is sure to add to the prison population.
.

1) What on earth does Ohio have to do with Arizona? There are privately owned and managed prisons all over the country, including facilities in Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, and Arizona, just to name a few. The cost savings can be dramatic.

2) You oppose overhauling Medicaid? Try looking into for-profit Medicaid managed care companies -- they save states money and provide much better healthcare outcomes for the poor. Better outcomes are achieved through a true managed care model with a heavy emphasis on diabetes, asthma and pregnancy. When you research these companies, you'll find that Rep and Dem governors have welcomed them into their states.

3) He wants to tie teacher pay to student outcomes? Oh my god how awful.

[JustRalph]

John Kasich is a hero. I hope the brain dead in Ohio don't throw him out for making tough choices.

Funny how initiatives that tend to lean toward more personal responsibility get lambasted by mosty and crew.

[bigmack]

I used to like Ohio. Now I don't even recognize the Ohio I used to know.
Figures. It's been Fubar for years, now it's on the mend.

If a state were in shambles with deficits beyond belief you'd look at it and say, What's the problem?

When do you suspect you'll get a clue? A boatload of states are running deficits. The world is a different place. Spending needs to be curtailed and you, mosty & Co., act as if people are being callus by cutting expenditures like little kids who want more toys.

Ever get the feeling you're completely out of touch with reality?

[cj's dad]

John Kasich is a hero. I hope the brain dead in Ohio don't throw him out for making tough choices.

Funny how initiatives that tend to lean toward more personal responsibility get lambasted by mosty and crew.

JR- don't waste your time- they're hopeless !!

[Tom]

Nice to a real American in action on this holiday weekend!

[mostpost]

Privatizing a state or city run anything is way to increase graft. It always looks good on paper and maybe saves money for a couple of years but in the long run it cost more money.

Chicago recently privatized its parking meters. The city got $1.2B to $1.6B (accounts vary) for the deal. The private company keeps all revenues for 75 years. The city keeps fines and sets rates.
What has happened so far? Rate immediately soared. It now costs $7 to park for two hours in some parts of the city. That is 28 quarters. This means that meters fill up in one day or less. And no one is coming around to empty them. So people are parking and getting tickets for being at an expired meter even though there is no place to put your money.
Meters now run 24/7 but the signs saying you don't have to pay at certain times remain in place. So people are getting tickets for not paying at times they never had to pay before.

The city of Chicago has some 35,000 meters. If each meter produces an average of only $10 a day in revenue, the private company will collect over $9B in 75 years. Personally I think that $10 a day average is very low.

[Tom]

Now what do you suppose the chances are that there is a connection between the democrats who set therates and their relatives at the company that collect the revenues? :D

[mostpost]

Really? California spends about $128/day/inmate. A few yrs ago they started housing inmates out of state at Corrections Corp (the nation's largest private prison provider) prisons. Corrections Corp charges Cali roughly $70/day.
They achieve those savings by paying the guards less and by having less guards per prisoner. The result? Corrections Corp. is facing a number of lawsuits in cases where guards have failed to protect prisoners from violence at the hands of other inmates.
I realize that money is more important than people to you guys, but I have a real problem with transferring inmates from in state facilities to out of state facilities. This makes it difficult, if not impossible for families to visit inmates. Family visits can be an important part of an inmates desire to rehabilitate.

Of course Corrections Corp. is not interested in rehabilitating prisoners. In fact CCA spent over $2.7 million dollars lobby states and Congress to pass harsher sentencing guidelines. Arizona is the perfect example with their harsher immigration laws. Private prison companies were major contributors to Jan Brewer.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Chicago recently privatized its parking meters. The city got $1.2B to $1.6B (accounts vary) for the deal. The private company keeps all revenues for 75 years. The city keeps fines and sets rates.
What has happened so far? Rate immediately soared. It now costs $7 to park for two hours in some parts of the city. That is 28 quarters. This means that meters fill up in one day or less. And no one is coming around to empty them. So people are parking and getting tickets for being at an expired meter even though there is no place to put your money.
Meters now run 24/7 but the signs saying you don't have to pay at certain times remain in place. So people are getting tickets for not paying at times they never had to pay before.

The city of Chicago has some 35,000 meters. If each meter produces an average of only $10 a day in revenue, the private company will collect over $9B in 75 years. Personally I think that $10 a day average is very low.

You changed the topic - previously you mentioned prisons, Medicaid and schools.

[mostpost]

Now what do you suppose the chances are that there is a connection between the democrats who set therates and their relatives at the company that collect the revenues? :D
That could be. The fact is the deal hurts the citizens of Chicago. Parking rates are up and none of that revenue will go to the city.

Let me ask you this. What do you think the chances are that there is a connection between the company a that will run Ohio's prisons and John Kasich?
Especially in terms of campaign contributions.

[Saratoga_Mike]

They achieve those savings by paying the guards less and by having 1) less guards per prisoner. The result? Corrections Corp. is facing a number of lawsuits in cases where 2) guards have failed to protect prisoners from violence at the hands of other inmates. I realize that money is more important than people to you guys, but I have a real problem with transferring inmates from in state facilities to out of state facilities. This makes it difficult, if not impossible for families to visit inmates. Family visits can be an important part of an inmates desire to rehabilitate.

Of course Corrections Corp. is not interested in rehabilitating prisoners. 3) In fact CCA spent over $2.7 million dollars lobby states and Congress to pass harsher sentencing guidelines. Arizona is the perfect example with their harsher immigration laws. Private prison companies were major contributors to Jan Brewer.

1) False (what's the inmate-to-guard ratio in Cali where the guards' unions are very powerful?)
2) CCA prisons are as safe if not safer than union-run facilities
3) Please provide proof that CCA has ever lobbied for tougher sentencing guidelines. And supporting Jan Brewer ain't going to cut it.

Your problem is your information sources all have a liberal bias. Try reading some conservative papers and magazines. And I'm all for the NY Times, too. I read it every day.

One other thing, the founder of CCA was a left-leaning Dem!

[mostpost]

You changed the topic - previously you mentioned prisons, Medicaid and schools.
First of all, I never expressed an opinion on the Medicaid issue. Secondly in the post you quoted, I was responding to Robert Goren on the subject of privatization not to you on the subject of prisons. My response to you came later.

[mostpost]

3) Please provide proof that CCA has ever lobbied for tougher sentencing guidelines. And supporting Jan Brewer ain't going to cut it.
http://www.diversityinc.com/article/8065/Who-Profits-From-the-Prison-Boom/
CCA is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Excerpt:
In 1995, when ALEC was publishing the results of its annual scorecard (it's now only visible to paid members), here's how it described its criminal-justice task forces: "The busiest Task Force is Criminal Justice which had 199 bills introduced. The anti-crime legislation with the most enactments was the Truth in Sentencing Act (inmates serve at least 85 percent of their sentence) which became law in 25 states."

ALEC's "Habitual Offender/Three Strikes" bills (life imprisonment for a third violent felony) passed in 11 states.
From this we see that ALEC/CCA is responsible for two laws which have contributed greatly to the increase in our prison population and to the profits of private prison companies.

Here is an article that details the connections between Jan Brewer, members of her staff and CCA
http://www.diversityinc.com/article/8061/

This article has a chart showing the relationships.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/6085/ties_that_bind_arizona_politicians_and_the_private _prison_industry/
Some highlights:
1. The criminal justice task force of ALEC deals with lobbying for harsher sentencing guidelines.
2. Arizona state senator Russell Pearce is a member of that task force.
3 Senator Pearce sponsored SB1070.
4 SB 1070 provided stiffer penalties for illegal immigration.
5. CCA hired "HighGround" (a Phoenix firm) to lobby for SB1070
6. HighGround is owned by J. Charles "Chuck" Coughlin. J. Charles "Chuck" Coughlin is Jan Brewers campaign manager and closest advisor.
7.Brewer's current spokesperson, Paul Senseman, previously worked at Policy Development Group, another influential lobbying firm in Phoenix, as a lobbyist for CCA.
8. His wife, Kathryn Senseman, is still employed by Policy Development Group and counts CCA as one of her lobbying clients.

Now tell me there is no connection.