Bits & Pieces - Ohioans deserve to know

Ohioans deserve to know

Bits ‘n Pieces

By Bob Robinson

From Newsmax…

Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums on some Americans due to Obamacare, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1 percent and 9 percent to pay for extra benefits required under the new law.

The insurers say Obamacare is causing them to pass on more costs to consumers than Democrats predicted. The rate increases largely apply to policies for individuals and small businesses.

About 9 percent of Americans buy coverage through the individual market, and roughly one-fifth of people who get coverage through their employer work at companies with 50 or fewer employees.

Both groups are expected to feel the effects of the proposed increases.

From the Columbus Dispatch

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich has said on the stump that if you want to meet a Hollywood star, go to Hollywood - and if you want to meet a successful Ohio entrepreneur, go to Naples, Fla.

State Auditor Mary Taylor, Kasich's running mate, said last week that when she was a private accountant, she advised wealthy Ohio clients to consider establishing residency in Florida or other states with lower income and estate taxes.

Such comments have caused a stir in the Ohio governor's race. Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland blasted Taylor's remarks as "appalling" and suggested that if Kasich wants to make Ohio like Florida, he should run for governor there.

Republicans responded by saying their point is that Ohio's tax climate is uncompetitive. They also asked whether Ohioans such as former Democratic U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum were traitors for retiring to Florida.

But many certified public accountants in Ohio advise their wealthy clients to consider moving, and Taylor would have violated her professional responsibility if she had not offered such advice, the Ohio Society of CPAs said yesterday.

A quick look at taxes in Florida and Ohio also shows striking differences between the states that can complicate tax comparisons.

For example, although Florida has no income or estate taxes, its 6 percent sales tax - aided by a thriving tourism industry - brings in more money each year than Ohio's income tax and sales tax combined.

Ohio taxes its deceased residents' estates that have a net value of $338,333 or more. The tax generated $333.8 million in the 2009 fiscal year, and $269.4 million of that was passed on to local governments, according to the state.

Florida also doesn't have a state income tax, but it makes up for that in part by a broad sales tax that generated $17.9 billion in the 2010 fiscal year.

Ohio's sales-tax rate is 5.5 percent, a half percentage point lower than Florida's. Ohio's tax generated $7.1 billion in the 2010 fiscal year. Ohio collected $7.2 billion in personal income taxes, state data show.

From Akron Beacon-Journal

Give Justice Maureen O'Connor credit. She's the one candidate for statewide office who has identified specific budget savings in view of the huge deficit looming in the next biennium.

The trouble is, budgetwise, O'Connor is seeking to become chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. The high court isn't a place to locate big savings. The projected budget hole may be as large as $8 billion. O'Connor has a plan to reduce court spending by $6 million, a sliver of an answer, in other words.

The justice acknowledged as much. Others may note the convergence of messages, O'Connor's theme echoing the words of other Republicans eager to promise fiscal discipline in light of the whopping shortfalls at the state and federal levels.

Let's put the partisan jabbing aside, and focus on the example that O'Connor set. She didn't make a vague pledge. If she proposed a judicial budget advisory committee to help in the task, she also cited areas where she would look for spending reductions, pointing to, among other things, a salary freeze, the slowing of a technology initiative and curbing maintenance expenses at the Judicial Center.

Again, hardly a big wad of cash. John Kasich, the Republican challenger, and Ted Strickland, the Democratic incumbent, are running for governor, the office responsible for setting the direction of the budget. Any chance they will come clean with plans for dealing with the deficit?

Justice O'Connor had it right: Ohioans deserve to know.

From Townhall Washington Beat

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Cynthia Tucker appeared on the Chris Matthews show and explained that the impending GOP takeover of Congress was due to widespread racism in America:

Obama's election has suddenly made many white Americans aware of the loss of a white majority…. That's what this crazy summer has been all about. Anti-mosque construction. Anti-immigrant ravings. That fear is very difficult for Obama to overcome.

Have a great day and feel safe and secure. Big Brother watches over us.

Watch for more Bits ‘n Pieces as they occur. Good stuff? Bad stuff? You decide.

Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive notification of his comments, opinions and reports when they are posted, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.