More delusion at City Council, tax cuts only worsen deficit.

The Cincinnati city budget has been facing a lingering deficit, and yet City Council cannot agree to making the right balance of cuts and revenue increases.

Logic would say that if the City lost 10% of its population, between 2000 and 2010, service cuts should also be proportionate.  And while many city services have over recent years have been reduced, like parks and recreation, or in some cases, even eliminated, spending on the fire and police departments have actually increased over the past decade.  Has this directly made the City of Cincinnati a safer place?  The conservative member simply won't budge, because to them, it's a matter of perception with the media and the suburbanites, more than it is a matter of reality and actually working harder and smarter for safety.

I believe that this impasse is more a ploy to kill the streetcar project in its tracks.  Yesterday, it was announced that the project cleared federal environmental impact studies, allowing for contractor bidding for rails, construction, and the streetcar vehicles themselves.  However, the critics, from the four Republicans on council, to COAST, and talk radio, remain determined to take this job-creating, economic growth driving project down at the ballot, as they first failed to do so in 2009.  Do they really want to be the ones who clearly killed jobs, especially after the planning process was not only well underway, or better yet, construction had begun?  They will point to the city's continued insolvency as to why we "can't afford it," even though they themselves refuse to either make serious, reasonable cuts, or enhance revenue, through minor tax hikes.

Some of the cuts that the conservative council members are proposing are for programs that have a strong impact on the quality of life, yet have a relatively minimal cost, such as yard waste collection, the environmental impact committee, and support for festivals.

Is it fair to continue rejecting their hired expert's requests to cut officers and firefighters?

"I don't care about fair," Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz said. "Life is not fair. It's not fair that somebody got shot and killed last night on the street either."

This brings me back to the delusion - Ghiz claims that if we reduce police department levels, there will be a spike of shootings that could have been prevented, which cannot be proven.  Most of these crimes take place where patrols are absent, and it is simply not feasible to hire police to continually patrols every block.  We still have a crime issue that will not go away unless more effective measures, such as a more critical mass of residents, and revitalized neighborhoods.  Neighborhoods where homes are populated, and storefronts are occupied with businesses and services that create tax revenue, while reducing demand on public safety services.

In this case, we have politicians who choose to govern with theory - a theory that a larger public safety force and lower taxes alone will lead to safety and prosperity.  Reality says that it is simply not that simple.  Well-funded public services, from parks, recreation, planning, and economic development are necessary to tending to the needs of residents and businesses, which in turn add to tax revenue, while reducing the need on emergency services.  As councilmembers, they need to realize that they are public servants, not business executives.  While government can always borrow ideas from the private sector, government itself is not a profit-making business.

This fall will be a turning point.  When selecting their council members, will they go with people who propose concrete, innovative ideas to make the city work harder, and smarter to attract and retain residents, and enhance the quality of life; or will they continually listen to the voices of fear, despair, distraction, and gossip through talk radio sessions and soundbytes?  Will they listen to plans other cities have taken to not only balance their budgets and drive economic growth, or will they listen to the shakedown antics of the police and fire union bosses?

Council majority wants to cut taxes, can't agree on deficit plan (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Do Ohio’s children win when schools compete?

Plunderbund, a site dedicated to Ohio statehouse politics, has done a great analysis on whether Charter schools in Ohio have led to an increase in test scores in Ohio schools.  While charts have generally shown an increase in test scores,  those at charter school are below those of public schools in Ohio's four largest public systems.  Even those test scores remain well below the state average, which includes suburban and rural districts, where there is little competition from state funded charter schools.

The argument of supporters of charter schools is that unlike public schools that perform dismally, charter schools themselves do fail and close.  Here's the issue: if a charter school closes down due to poor performance, where do the children end up?  In many cases, back in traditional public schools, sometimes having to catch-up to their peers who were continuously enrolled in that public school.

Has the jump in test scores been the result of influence and competition from charter schools?  Maybe?  Then why do charter test scores remain below those of urban public districts, and still well below public districts in general?  If the charter system is to be intellectually honest, it's time to shut down many of the charters.

Or better yet, if Ohio is having a massive budget deficit, and needs to cut education funding, this would be the right time to pull the plug on a shaky free-market idea, and focus on reality, and make sure all our children are educated and become successful.  If innovation is needed, let's innovate from within, rather than against our own tax dollars helping to fund more administrators, executives, and facilities.  This goes against Governor John Kasich's campaign to "spend more dollars in the classroom."  But then again, look at Kasich's campaign funding trail, and that's where we see "priorities" means something different.

Do Ohio's children win when schools compete? - Plunderbund