GOP Clown Show In Columbus

Dispatch:

Legislative Republicans rolled out a plan today that eliminates most of Gov. John Kasich’s tax proposals in his two-year, $63.3 billion budget.

House GOP leaders threw out Kasich’s tax cuts and replaced it, for now, a 7 percent income tax cut. It would be a $1.5 billion cut over two years....Above all else in his tax plan as he prepares for a re-election campaign, Kasich wanted to cut the state income tax, and he proposed a 20-percent cut across the board, plus an additional 50 percent tax deduction for business owners up to $750,000 worth of net income.

Though Kasich said his overall tax package would have resulted in a $1.4 billion cut over three years, he looked to cover much of the lost income tax revenue with a broad sales tax expansion and a new tax on shale drilling that proved unpopular with GOP lawmakers....Republicans also jettisoned, for the second straight year, Kasich’s proposal to increase the state severance tax, which is levied on oil and gas extracted from the ground. The tax was aimed at the state’s burgeoning fracking industry, but once again the oil and gas industry successfully fought it off....House Republicans also did a major overhaul to Kasich’s school-funding plan, which he called Achievement Everywhere. The plan drew fire because 76 percent of poor, rural districts would have received no new money, while a number of suburban districts would have seen significant increases.

Overall spending, Amstutz said, will remain similar to what the governor proposed. But under the House plan, the number of districts getting no additional money decreased from about 400 to 175. Like Kasich’s plan, no district would get less money...House Republicans also rejected Kasich’s proposed Medicaid expansion to cover 275,000 low-income Ohioans through the federal health care law. The plan to increase eligibility to 138 percent of the federal poverty level would have been 100 percent federally funded for the first three years and brought in $13 billion in federal money over the next seven years.

“We are continuing work on the Medicaid issues,” said Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina. “We are not in a position at this time to discuss the depths of those issues and the problems we are facing.”

The speaker said there continues to be a lack of clarity from the federal government. “I’ve never seen anything quite as confusing as this situation.”

Rep. John Patrick Carney, D-Columbus, said he will introduce a stand-alone Medicaid expansion bill by the end of the week using Kasich’s proposed language. He said he will look for House Republicans to provide 11 votes to go along with the 39 Democrats.

The rejection of Medicaid money is just ignorant stubborness, which will hurt hospitals in rural areas.  The school funding goes back to the point here, that rural areas are subsidized by suburban areas, while the tax cuts from both Kasich and the House are just plain stupid.  A 50 percent tax deduction for business owners making $750,000 a year?  What the fuck, they can afford to pay some fucking taxes.  I am so sick of Republican dumbfucks bitching about taxes.  Take a look around.  The vast majority of folks are struggling to get by, and Republicans are looking out for the folks who don't need any damn help.  Fuck those GOP assholes.