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  • Stimulus Money Sent to Phantom Districts in Ohio

    Lynn Walsh, Investigative Reporter for the Buckeye Institute, spoke with 610 WTVN’s Bob Connors this morning about the phantom congressional districts posted on www.recovery.gov. 10 districts in Ohio, that do not exist, received more than $5.3 million in stimulus funds, creating/retaining 11 jobs. Ohio only has 18 congressional districts. lynn.walsh.nov19.Bob Connors The [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 12:51pm EST
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Stimulus Works – Even in Districts That Don’t Exist!

    Buckeye Institute Investigative Reporter Lynn Walsh uncovered 10 brand new Congressional Districts in Ohio via the www.recovery.org website’s newest state and territory summary for Ohio. Walsh exposed the mistake on the Buckeye Institute affiliated OhioWatchdog.org and the story was picked up today by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 5:11pm EST
    by Lauren Kresge

  • Mayer Questions the Need for State Aircraft

    Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer calls for the Ohio to reevaluate the need for state maintained aircraft in the midst of budget woes and a severe decline in usage in this Dayton Daily News article. [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:49am EST
    by Lauren Kresge

  • Ohio’s Elected Officials Should Consider Highways

    It seems the State of Ohio is slow to move on Aviation Administrator James Bryant’s recommendation to sell 4 planes and 2 helicopters from an aging fleet. Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer also questions Ohio’s use of planes and helicopters for inner state travel instead of Ohio’s highway system in [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:40am EST
    by Lauren Kresge

  • Matt Mayer on Bob Connors Radio Show

    Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer was featured on the Bob Connors radio show this morning discussing a multitude of Ohio issues including the impact that federal health care reform and cap and trade could have on Ohio’s budget. Matt also spent some time on Ohio’s own budget woes. [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 10:09am EDT
    by Lauren Kresge

  • The Unintended Consequences of an Autism Mandate

    Number of comments: 2
    Some in Ohio are pushing for legislators to pass a law mandating insurance companies cover autism therapy. California has such a law, and it has just been dramatically expanded by court order: In a preliminary ruling, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant found that Kaiser Permanente’s refusal to [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 2:33pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Passenger Rail Just Isn’t Popular

    In the push to reintroduce passenger rail in Ohio, it is often claimed that passenger rail has strong support from the public. As recent data by the Pew Charitable Trust shows, where passenger rail already exists it isn’t all that popular: Forty-one of Amtrak’s 44 routes lost money in 2008 with [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 10:42am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Those Who Forget History…

    Number of comments: 5
    If you really think the health care proposals being debated in DC will cost less than $1 trillion over ten years, the Wall Street Journal today has some history of other government health care programs that should disabuse you of that notion: The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that [Medicaid's]' [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 3:05pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Smoking Ban Victory for Local Businesses

    It’s a victory for all small business in Ohio thanks to the Buckeye Institutes’ 1851 Center for Constitutional Law.  Pour House, a locally owned bar in Columbus, will not be fined for smoking violations thanks to a court decision last Friday. The court ruled that Pour House should not have been fined [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 1:51pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Matt Mayer on the Tax Foundation Podcast

    Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer recently spoke to the Tax Foundation’s Natasha Altamirano about Governor Ted Strickland’s plan to freeze a scheduled 4.2 percent cut in the state income tax.  Listen to the discussion below courtesy of the Tax Foundation’s Tax Policy Podcast Series. Posted on October 14, 2009 Ohio Governor Ted [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 8:11am EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • State Budget Problem? Look for the Union Label

    The Weekly Standard has a great article about how government employee unions are contributing to state budget problems. It points out the generous compensation government workers receive, courtesy of your tax dollars: For every $1-an-hour pay increase, noted Dennis Cauchon in USA Today, public employees have gotten $1.17 in new benefits. [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 4:10pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Try, Try Again (To Raise Taxes)

    It seems some government officials can’t take “no” for an answer. Several school districts in the Cincinnati area are seeking voter approval to raise taxes after being rebuffed in the recent past. Two districts’ pleas have been rejected three times, another district’s requests have been voted down twice. As in the [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 4:22pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Stowers Family Finally will get Food Back

    Number of comments: 1
    After nearly a year of waiting the Stowers family from LaGrange, Ohio will finally have their food returned to them from Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Lorain County General Health District. The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law won a court order for all of the food that was seized [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 4:27pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Not So Stimulating

    Number of comments: 2
    If you think the “stimulus” package is doing any good, this chart should disabuse you of that notion: If you need any more explanation about the stimulus package’s failures, the article that contains this chart is found here. [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 3:55pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Tax Cut Freeze the only Option?

    Governor Ted Strickland announced a plan to freeze this years income tax last week; something he is now saying is not a tax increase.  Strickland views the tax cut freeze as a feasible way to get the budget in order.  President of the Buckeye Insitute, Matt Mayer, thinks there are [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 9:37am EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Manna Storehouse Trial Re-Scheduled

    The trial scheduled tomorrow morning for the MannaStorehouse case (Stowers v. Ohio Department of Agriculture) is being rescheduled.  The trial court has moved the trial date and will announce the new date tomorrow morning.  The move is being made by the trial court on their own accord.  As soon as the [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 1:54pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Health Care Bill Adds to Ohio Budget Woes

    Number of comments: 3
    In a Viewpoint I wrote a little while ago, I raised a concern about the burden the health care legislation making its way through Congress would impose on state taxpayers. While health insurance regulation and Medicare are receiving the bulk of the attention in this debate, all the legislation passed [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 10:34am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • 1851 Center Client Open for Business at Last

    On Saturday October 3, the owners of Moto Verde, a motor scooter shop in Fairfax, Ohio, will exercise their constitutional rights by opening their business to the general public.  Back in June, Moto Verde owners Tim Annett and Ryan Haines thought their own version of the American Dream, running a [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • What Freedom of Speech?

    “If a corporation pays for something political, the government can ban it” — that’s Buckeye Institute Board member Bradley Smith summarizing current campaign law as viewed by federal regulators. Having been a member of the Federal Election Commission, Smith is something of an expert on this topic. As he points [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 1:55pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • If You Subsidize It, They Will Come

    Yesterday Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood came to Ohio to extol the virtues of passenger rail. I hope he offered something in his talk that was more  insightful than his comments as reported in the Dispatch: “if you build it, they will come” and “people like to ride trains.” His platitudes are [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 4:02pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Governor Strickland Gets It

    Number of comments: 2
    While I have issues with some of Governor Strickland’s decisions, he hit the nail on the head with his recent comments about tax increases, as quoted by Gongwer News Service($): Maybe in their ivory towers a tax increase seems like something that would not be painful or harmful. I have said [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 3:49pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • A Beautiful Coincidence

    Did you know today is “World Car Free Day“? I didn’t either until a few hours ago. I learned this after my latest Viewpoint was published on the Buckeye Institute main page. The topic of my Viewpoint? The waste of taxpayer money that is passenger rail. Those who are celebrating [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 4:47pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • You Really Think it Won’t Add to the Deficit?

    Number of comments: 1
    Sen. Max Baucus unveiled his health care plan yesterday and one of its main selling points is that it won’t add to the deficit, according to CBO’s score for the bill. Most of the Baucus bill’s costs would be paid for by reducing spending on Medicare. As Peter Suderman over [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 3:44pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Update – Buckeye Institute’s Sample Language Used for Estate Tax Repeal

    Today, the Ohio Ballot Board certified the language for an initiated statute amendment to eliminate Ohio’s estate tax. The 1851 Center drafted sample language for the amendment that was adopted by Citizens United to End Ohio’s Estate Tax. With the Ballot Board’s approval, signatures can officially be collected to have [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 11:50am EDT
    by Lauren Kresge

  • Overstating the Benefits of Passenger Rail

    Number of comments: 2
    Gongwer News Service($) reported on a press conference by passenger rail advocates yesterday that had this astonishing claim: Creation of a rail line from Boston to Portland, Maine produced a 220% return on the $100 million in public spending, according to real estate developer Robert Martin. The project has generated more than [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 1:21pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Is Banning Books Next?

    Number of comments: 1
    The Cato Institute has put out a great video on the conflict between campaign finance restrictions and free speech. As it discusses, if the Supreme Court upholds federal law which bans corporations from paying for advertising deemed political, there is nothing to stop the government from banning political books:[...]
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    Posted: September 11, 2009, 9:05am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Calling out the President

    In his health care speech last night, President Obama said he would “call out” those who misrepresent his plan. Fair enough, there has been a lot of misrepresentation about health care reform legislation from those who oppose it. However, there has also been a lot of misrepresentation about this plan [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 11:13am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Who Doesn’t Have an Answer?

    Number of comments: 4
    In Cincinnati yesterday, President Obama made this astounding claim about those who oppose his health care “reform” plan: “I’ve got a question for all those folks: What are you going to do? What’s your answer? What’s your solution? And you know what? They don’t have one.” You’d think the President would [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 5:09pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • “Labor Day is not Union Day”

    To go along with my article this week, here is a much more in-depth look at the damage to workers caused by unions: Labor unions get more respect than they deserve. They are nothing other than labor cartels. Like all cartels, their success depends on the extent to which they can [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 2:06pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Ready for an Even More Intrusive IRS?

    What federal agency is the big winner in the health care “reform” debate? The IRS: Under the various proposals now on the table, the IRS would become the main agency for determining who has an “acceptable” health insurance plan; for finding and punishing those who don’t have such a plan; for [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 9:06am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • How Profitable are Insurance Companies?

    Not very, according to this article: Health insurers, in fact, ranked below many other industries in profitability, including other health sectors, according to the latest Fortune magazine rankings. While pharmaceutical companies were the third-most profitable industry last year, with a 19.3 percent profit margin, health insurers ranked 35th, with a 2.2 [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 9:13am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Is This Really the Kind of Health Care You Want?

    Number of comments: 3
    A New York Times article on the liberal push to support President Obama’s health care “reform” mentioned this: Other people were stoked by personal causes that seemed in some cases only peripheral to a broader societal debate. “I’m out here if it will help one more kid get medication,” said Johari Ade-Green, [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2009, 4:57pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • President Obama’s Health Care Misinformation

    In a conference call with religious leaders, President Obama said there was a lot of misinformation in the health care debate. That’s true. Of course, much of that misinformation is coming from him. As Michael Tanner points out in the Orange County Register, the claim that people will be able [...]
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    Posted: August 28, 2009, 10:13am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Charter Schools vs. District Schools

    Number of comments: 1
    The fight continues between public charter schools and public district schools, and it always seems to start with the unions throwing the first punch.  Yesterday’s Gongwer Report provided some detailed information about the state report cards, and the teachers’ union acted as though they had body slammed their charter “opponents”.  [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 12:11pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • The Best Health Care Article Written This Year

    Number of comments: 1
    This month’s Atlantic has an excellent article about the problems facing our health care system. The author’s suggestions on how to fix our system are far better than anything currently being discussed in DC or at town halls. If you read this article and truly understand it, you’ll be better [...]
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    Posted: August 26, 2009, 3:32pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Passenger Rail Already Exceeding Estimates

    Number of comments: 1
    Gongwer News Service($) reports that Ohio’s passenger rail plans are already costing more than anticipated. In a split vote, the Controlling Board approved a $200,000 increase in the amount being paid to a California consulting firm to analyze the feasibility of passenger rail service. The Controlling Board  approved $450,000 in [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 3:41pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • So What are the Benefits of High-Speed Rail Again?

    Harvard economics professor Edward Glaeser has a series of posts on the New York Times Economix blog taking apart the case for high-speed rail. This series should be required reading for all Ohio policymakers, especially those like Governor Strickland who are so enamored with high-speed rail. What were Glaeser’s conclusions? Costs [...]
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    Posted: August 24, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Samuelson on High-Speed Rail

    Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson has some wise words on high-speed rail: President Obama’s network may never be built. It’s doubtful private investors will advance the money, and once government officials acknowledge the full costs, they’ll retreat. In a recent report, the Government Accountability Office cited a range of construction costs, [...]
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    Posted: August 24, 2009, 11:51am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Maurice Thompson Discusses Video Slots and Keeping the General Assembly in Check

    Maurice Thompson, director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, was a guest on the Matt Patrick show on August 5. Thompson and Patrick discussed the 1851 Center’s amicus brief in LetOhioVote.org v. Brunner. The brief argues that the general assembly acted hastily in adapting video slots gaming at Ohio race [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2009, 4:39pm EDT
    by Lauren Kresge

  • Wasting Time on Passenger Rail

    Number of comments: 2
    According to Gongwer($), the Ohio Rail Development Commission is excited that driving between Ohio’s cities will take less time than passenger rail. Yes, even though they admit that driving will save you a lot of time, the ORDC thinks that rail travel is competitive. According to ORDC numbers, it would take [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2009, 9:27am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Could Special Education Vouchers Help Solve Ohio’s Budget Woes?

    The Legislature has been trying to pass a Special Education scholarship plan for years.  While public charter schools and the EdChoice scholarship are saving taxpayers money, could a Special Education voucher do the same? It has helped in Florida.  McKay Scholarship students cost less to educate on average than traditional students [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 4:00pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • Unfit for Office

    This is just amazing: Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo’s attorney has subpoenaed 32 people who signed a request for a citizens review of the auditor’s office and is seeking political and tax information about them. Members of the group called the subpoenas harassment, an attempt to intimidate them into dropping their plan [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 11:41am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Why Does College Cost So Much?

    Ohio University professor Richard Vedder discusses how government policies to make college more affordable have actually made it much more expensive: Earlier this year, the Buckeye Institute released a study written by Dr. Vedder and me critiquing the Ohio Board of Regents plan for Ohio’s higher ed future. [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 9:55am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Overselling High-Speed Rail

    Sam Staley, a senior fellow at the Buckeye Institute, has an article in Reason magazine about why the job creation potential of high-speed rail is not as great as some politicians claim: Ultimately, high-speed rail’s impacts on American travel patterns and employment productivity are going to be negligible, and the actual [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 10:02am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Can’t Find a Job? Go to North Dakota

    Number of comments: 2
    The Washington Post has a story today about an Ohio woman who is unable to find work in this state and so moves to North Dakota: She grew up in California, taught piano while raising two children in Nevada, filed for divorce and decided to attend college in Ohio starting in [...]
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    Posted: August 14, 2009, 12:29pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Insurance Companies and their Liberal Allies

    As I mentioned before, the standard attack of those who support health insurance “reform” is that we who oppose it are doing the bidding of insurance companies. Examiner columnist Tim Carney is continuing to do an admirable job of exposing the fact that insurance companies are strongly behind most of [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 9:35am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Here’s the Future under “Reform”

    In my previous post, I made a claim in the comments section that I thought little good would come from any health care “reform” bill passed by Congress. A new paper by Greg Scandlen on the Massachusetts health care plan illustrates why I think this. The Massachusetts Plan has many [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 2:19pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center on ONN: Capitol Square

    Number of comments: 1
    [...]
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    Posted: August 10, 2009, 11:54am EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • Who is Really Shilling for the Insurance Industry?

    Number of comments: 5
    It’s a common talking point by those pushing health care “reform” that those who are oppose the legislation making its way through Congress are merely shills for the health insurance industry. This contention, as Tim Carney points out in a few different places, ignores a few things. One, the health [...]
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    Posted: August 10, 2009, 10:59am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Neither transparent nor trustworthy

    The latest “falsehood” promoted by the Obama administration is about the “Cash for Clunkers” program.  After initially refusing to provide the details about what Americans were buying – a clear lack of transparency from the man who promised increased transparency - the Obama government finally released their list of the top 10 vehicles purchased.  No doubt [...]
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    Posted: August 07, 2009, 4:15pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • After $124 Million in Overtime…

    The City of Columbus is not the only big overtime spender. The State of Ohio spent more than $124 million in overtime last year. The Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections racked up an overtime bill of more than $58.2 million. The State of Ohio defines overtime and breaks overtime pay [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 1:57pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Dramatic Evidence Parents Happy with School Choice

    Number of comments: 1
    More evidence was revealed today that school choices is working.  The Friedman Foundation found parents participating in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program had “dramatically higher levels of satisfaction with academic progress, individual attention, teacher quality, school responsiveness, and student behavior when compared to the public schools their children previously attended…” Among the [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • Slow Down on High Speed Rail

    On the Freakonomics blog, UCLA transportation scholar Eric Morris writes: once [government officials] have started spending money on a project they find it very hard to stop, no matter how disastrously it may be proceeding or how dim the benefits are starting to look. This is why we should consider the administration’s [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 3:44pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • The Streets of the Hilltop

    Number of comments: 2
    With the final decision on Issue One just a day away and as the battle between both sides heats up, I decided it was time to be front and center with a Columbus Police Officer. On Saturday, August 2, 2009, I accompanied a police officer who’s job may be on [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 9:12am EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Judge Andrew Napolitano at the 1851 Center Fundraiser

    Here is video with Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law and Fox News Contributor, Judge Andrew Napolitano: [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 6:16pm EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • The Numbers Game in Columbus

    Number of comments: 1
    In a recent article mentioning the research and numbers behind the Buckeye Institute’s series on the City of Columbus Employee Salary Database some of the numbers provided in the article, “More Money, More Problems,” were challenged.  The median household income in the City of Columbus according to the Economic Research Service [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 4:40pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Federal Money to the Rescue

    The City of Columbus Police Department is the recipient of a $12.7 million federal grant to hire or retain police officers. The grant is supposed to pay the salary and benefits for 50 entry level officers for three years.  $12.7 million averages out to $4.23 million every year for three years. The [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 1:55pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Income Tax Discussion in Columbus

    Yesterday, Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center was on WTVN 610 AM discussing city taxes with Bob Conners. And Lynn Walsh, our Investigative Reporter, was on NBC 4 Columbus to discuss the compensation of city employees: [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 8:54am EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • A Budget in the Hole keeps Choppers in the Sky

    Police equipment costs are adding to the City of Columbus’ budget hole again this year. According to a report provided to City Council in 2007, the Columbus Division of Police’s helicopter fleet is the third largest of any police helicopter fleet in the country. The City even seems to be in [...]
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    Posted: July 29, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Compounding Troubles for New Columbus Finance Chief

    Number of comments: 1
    Paul R. Rakosky will be the new City Finance Chief for Columbus in less than three days. But, it was just nine months ago that Rakosky found himself behind bars at the Franklin County Correctional Center. According to the police report, Captain David Rose and Sergeant Nester found Rakosky “doubled over, [...]
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    Posted: July 29, 2009, 12:10pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Smoking Ban

    Last week, 1851 Center Director Maurice Thompson argued Pour House v. Ohio Department of Health before Tenth District Court of Appeals. That case deals with whether the Ohio Department of Health is overstepping its bounds by enforcing the state smoking ban in a way that arbitrarily subjects Ohio’s small business [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2009, 3:14pm EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • Maurice Thompson at a Mansfield Healthcare Forum

    On July 21, Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center spoke at the Mid-Ohio Healthcare Forum in Mansfield, discussing President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care legislation. Please scroll to 11:45 to watch: [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2009, 2:14pm EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • A Closer Look at the City Budget

    Recent posts regarding the City of Columbus employee salary database has garnered some attention throughout Columbus and Ohio.  A lot of the interest stems from Issue One, a proposed income tax increase in the City of Columbus.  I had an opportunity to join Dirk Thompson from 610 WTVN on his [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2009, 10:28am EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Will You Really Be Able to Keep Your Own Doctor?

    Number of comments: 4
    President Obama has said that under his health care reform, “if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor.” While President Obama wants to create a new government-run “insurance” program, there are already government-run health care programs for the poor and elderly. Perhaps the President is unaware of it, but [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 4:01pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Old Habits Die Hard

    Number of comments: 4
    Last year Columbus saw over $28 million in overtime pay; almost half of that overtime pay went to employees in the Division of Police. 2009 is a new year and a new year means a fresh start; but, it seems for the Division of Police old habits are hard to [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 3:32pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • One Officer Too Many?

    A safe city is at the top of most citizens’ lists; and to keep a city safe a strong police force is needed. According to the Division of Police 2008 Annual Report there are 1,876 sworn personnel officers and 335 civilian personnel officers. That is equivalent to 2.4 officers for [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 3:26pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Columbus’ Budget Solution: Build More Parks

    Even as Columbus city officials moan and groan about budget crises and their need to increase the city’s income tax, the Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks has decided to take on a whole new project. An article in today’s Columbus Dispatch states that the city may be forced to [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 2:07pm EDT
    by Greg Kendall

  • Protection at a High Cost

    Number of comments: 1
    The Division of Police is the biggest personnel cost for the City of Columbus.  It represents over 31% of total personnel costs in 2008, totaling over $166 million. The Division of Police employed over 2,300 people last year.  More than 950 of those employees earned more than $75,000 in 2008; that [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 9:53am EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Top Dogs of the City

    So, who are the biggest earners working for the City of Columbus?  Employees protecting the public come out on top.  Eight of the top ten salaries belong to people working in the Department of Public Safety. Police Chief James Garfield Jackson holds the top spot earning more than $200,000 a year.  [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 9:53am EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Big Bucks for Extra Time

    Extra hours means lots of extra money for the City of Columbus.  In 2008, total overtime pay for City Columbus employees was over $28 million. Over 150 city employees made more than $25,000 in overtime alone last year.  That overtime payment alone is more than 65% of the median household earned [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 9:53am EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • More Money, More Problems

    Number of comments: 2
    The City of Columbus seems to have found itself in a tough spot; an $80 million budget hole on one side and citizens needs on another.  The solution, according to city leaders, is to raise the income tax. According to the Economic Research Service the median household income in Ohio is [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 9:53am EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Insurance Costs Going Up? Let’s Raise Them More

    The headline in the Columbus Dispatch trumpets Governor Strickland’s talking points that more people will gain health coverage because of a variety of new regulations in the state budget. A more accurate headline would have indicated that these changes will actually raise health insurance rates in Ohio, leading to more [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2009, 2:55pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Higher Spending on Higher Ed?

    Number of comments: 4
    Reason TV has a new video out on the folly of President Obama’s proposed higher education entitlement: Dr. Richard Vedder and I sounded many of the same themes in our critique of the Ohio Board of Regents’ higher education plan. [...]
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    Posted: July 15, 2009, 10:25am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Maurice Thompson Talks About 1851 Center for Constitutional Law

    On June 17th, Maurice Thompson spoke to the Ohio Freedom Alliance about his work at the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law and economic liberty: [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 12:30pm EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • ABJ helps keep gov’t transparent on gambling

    Regardless of what you think about expanded gambling, transparency is the key to figuring out how slots became the answer to all Ohio’s budget woes.  Kudos to the Akron Beacon Journal (ABJ) for an excellent article detailing some of the links that may help explain. Here’s an excerpt:  “The winners? Those [...]
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    Posted: July 13, 2009, 11:32am EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • Rejecting the Gov’s Good Idea

    Number of comments: 4
    According to Gongwer News Service, a bipartisan group of legislators has rejected Governor Strickland’s idea to help balance the budget by reducing the amount the state pays into the public employee retirement system: A Strickland administration proposal to help balance the budget by reducing retirement contributions for state workers has been shelved, [...]
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    Posted: July 08, 2009, 12:28pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Update on the Manna Storehouse Litigation

    Number of comments: 1
    On Monday, July 6, Federal Judge Kathleen O’Malley agreed with the 1851 Center and remanded the Stowers’ case against the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio Department of Agriculture back to its proper venue, state court. In December, after the Ohio Department of Agriculture and Lorain County General Health District [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 6:34pm EDT
    by Buckeye Institute

  • All Aboard the Pork Train

    Number of comments: 1
    It’s not even a certainty to be built yet, but already politicians are jockeying to turn the proposed passenger rail network into even more of a pork barrel project than it already is. Officials in Butler County (and other Ohio counties) are trying to make sure any passenger train includes [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 2:59pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Transparency Necessary During Budget Process

    The news is out – we may have a new budget by the constitutionally mandated June 30th deadline!  While that could be good news, the fact that legislators are hoping to complete negotiations on Saturday, expect the bill to be written on Sunday and have a vote on Monday – [...]
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    Posted: June 26, 2009, 2:28pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • Growing Government, Shrinking Economies

    Number of comments: 1
    Ohio’s politicians tell us that government involvement will help pull us out of the recession, but real world results seem to indicate otherwise. A report just released by the Brookings Institution ranks the Columbus economy 40th in the nation in a study of 100 cities. The study, which examines economic [...]
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    Posted: June 18, 2009, 4:04pm EDT
    by Greg Kendall

  • Spending Higher Education Dollars Wisely

    There will be a new report coming out this summer that shows how well for-profit colleges do in educating at-risk students. In fact, from preliminary reports, this study will show these for-profit colleges do better than other types of institutions for this at-risk group. This research bolsters two studies the Buckeye [...]
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    Posted: June 18, 2009, 12:18pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Supreme Court Helps Taxpayers, Workers

    The Ohio State Supreme Court yesterday helped save taxpayers a little money when it limited the scope of the state’s prevailing wage law. The prevailing wage law mandates higher-than-market wages for work on most state construction projects, which leads to the government (i.e., you, the taxpayer) paying 5% to 15% [...]
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    Posted: June 18, 2009, 10:33am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Death and Taxes

    As you may have noticed on our website, the Buckeye Institute today released a report authored by former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Cameron Smith. It discusses the effect of the estate tax on small businesses and finds that permanently eliminating the estate tax could create roughly 1.5 [...]
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    Posted: June 17, 2009, 5:36pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Coming Around to our Way of Thinking

    Looks like Governor Strickland is supporting Medicaid cuts and re-thinking his Medicaid expansion because the state isn’t receiving enough tax revenue.  Two years ago, when policymakers in the General Assembly almost unanimously (there was only one dissenting vote) expanded Medicaid at the request of the governor, I wrote this: Expanding Medicaid can [...]
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    Posted: June 17, 2009, 5:24pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Punishing Success

    Once upon a time, success was rewarded in America. Now, success often meets with punishment. It’s a common misunderstanding that taxing the wealthy at higher rates will bring greater revenue to our federal government, but Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute sets the record straight in this enlightening video, showing [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 4:29pm EDT
    by Scott McClure

  • Punishing Success

    Number of comments: 10
    Once upon a time, success was rewarded in America. Now, success often meets with punishment. It’s a common misunderstanding that taxing the wealthy at higher rates will bring greater revenue to our federal government, but Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute sets the record straight in this enlightening video, showing [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 1:08pm EDT
    by Scott McClure

  • OEA putting kids before politics?

    That would certainly be a first!  On their website, the Ohio Education Association is declaring the need to “put our kids ahead of politics”.  Oh the irony! I can still hear Albert Shanker’s famous words ringing in my ears.  It’s burned in my memory, because it’s the most honest statement I’ve ever [...]
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    Posted: June 11, 2009, 4:11pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • Strickland Goes Begging Again

    Number of comments: 3
    Governor Ted Strickland returned to Washington, D.C., to beg federal officials to spend more money in Ohio. You can’t really blame him, since his begging earlier this year helped result in the federal “stimulus” bill that allowed him and the General Assembly to (largely) escape dealing with Ohio’s budget problems. [...]
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    Posted: June 11, 2009, 10:27am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • The American People or American Sheeple?

    When even Russia can recognize our steamrolling national trend toward Marxism, you know there is a problem! In an article entitled “American capitalism gone with a whimper” in the Russian newspaper, Pravda, the American people (or “sheeple” as the author refers to us) are criticized on several fronts and rightly [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
    by Scott McClure

  • Where are all the businesses going?

    Number of comments: 1
    What a sad state of affairs for Ohio.  Our unemployment rate is above 10%, the government take over of the auto businesses is closing plants left and right, and now, more bad news. A Dayton-area business, NCR Corp., with a 125 year history in Ohio, is pulling up roots and 1,250 [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2009, 1:07pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • Undue Responsibility: To return or not to return

    It seems that if we want our government to be fiscally responsible, we may have to take matters into our own hands. Findlay resident, Larry Manley did just that when he returned his $250 check from the Social Security Administration for the purpose of reducing the national debt, showing an [...]
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    Posted: June 01, 2009, 4:47pm EDT
    by Scott McClure

  • Waxman’s “cap and trade” bill bad for Ohio workers

    At a time when Ohioans need most to build and maintain their financial security, the “cap and trade” measure spear-headed by US Rep. Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will do nothing but provide further hurtles for Ohioans to realize such security. This bill, [...]
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    Posted: June 01, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
    by Scott McClure

  • State School Board Member Needs Educated

    Number of comments: 1
    Shocking but not surprising, one of our elected State School Board members, G.R. “Sam” Schloemer, is anti-public charter school.  He’s even gone so far as to officially write a letter to a handful of new board members, asking them to oppose any public-charter school supporters when they consider whom to [...]
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    Posted: May 28, 2009, 3:11pm EDT
    by Beth Lear

  • The Ethanol Hangover

    The bankruptcy of an Allen County ethanol plant illustrates a variety of problems with government intervention in the market. The only reason ethanol is being used as fuel is because the farm lobby (which benefits from having another market for corn) and the environmental lobby (whose hatred of fossil fuels [...]
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    Posted: May 28, 2009, 11:14am EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Tom Woods Explains it All

    Listen here to a BuckeyeVoices podcast with Dr. Tom Woods, author of “Meltdown: A Free Market Look at Why the Stock Market Crashed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse.” Dr. Woods is speaking on the Ohio State Campus tomorrow evening, a learning opportunity you wouldn’t want to miss.[...]
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    Posted: May 27, 2009, 9:54am EDT
    by David Hansen

  • Sotomayor: In Her Own Words

    Number of comments: 1
    Time to ready the life rafts.  See our “Presuming Liberty: Using Ohio’s Constitution to Limit Government.” [...]
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    Posted: May 26, 2009, 9:27am EDT
    by David Hansen

  • In case you missed it: IN’s Mitch Daniels on cap-and-trade

    Judging by the product it passed yesterday, the US House Committee on Commerce and Energy would that we in Ohio have neither commerce nor energy. In a WSJ op-ed last week, Indiana’s Gov. Mitch Daniels weighed in on the politics behind this bill from a Hoosier perspective that applies just as [...]
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    Posted: May 22, 2009, 10:22am EDT
    by David Hansen

  • Reducing Competition, Costing the Taxpayer

    It must be nice to have allies in the General Assembly. As the Ohio Contractors Association found out, getting a provision tucked into the budget bill which will reduce comptition for state construction jobs (and, in turn, drive up the cost of those jobs) was pretty easy: House Democrats slipped a [...]
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    Posted: May 21, 2009, 4:55pm EDT
    by Marc Kilmer

  • Where is the Food?

    Last December the Stowers family had all of their food taken from them. Almost six months later they still have not got it back. The Buckeye Institute’s Maurice Thompson finally has some answers. [...]
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    Posted: May 20, 2009, 6:46pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh

  • Food Modernization Act of 2009

    The Stowers case in Lorain, Ohio has raised concerns and worries for gardeners throughout the country. Why? One of the reasons involves “The Food Modernization Act of 2009.”: [...]
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    Posted: May 20, 2009, 6:44pm EDT
    by Lynn Walsh
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