Economy & Business

Sen. Turner’s strong message on Ed Show but leaves out MBE – EDGE

March 18, 2011 By Ohio Clipper Leave a Comment

I’m hoping that the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus is as hard on Gov. John Kasich regarding two minority and women’s small business programs as they were on Ted Strickland – who actually built them back up.

Yesterday, I posted that the state operating money for the office which operates the MBE and EDGE programs will be cut by more than half over the course of fiscal years 2012 -13. Forty-five percent of the cuts are slated to begin July with the beginning of the FY 2012.

These two programs were slashed by previous Republican administrations and only revitalized under Strickland. In the midst of the Strickland Administration’s efforts to respect Ohio law and coerce state agencies to quit ignoring the programs, the OLBC was unyielding in its criticism of state agencies during numerous previous budget hearings and meetings of the state’s Controlling Board. In short, they were effective representatives of minority and women owned businesses.

State Sen. Nina Turner appeared on the Ed Show on MSNBC the other night and represented well the idea that, in her words, “… and what the Republican governors around the country are doing which is to take us from the United States of America to the corporate states of America, really Gov. Kasich’s budget is all about creating a low wage workforce.”

Amen, Sen. Turner. It’s time to add minorities and women to your message. If MBE and EDGE businesses ran in the same circles as Kasich’s investment class constituency, the Equal Opportunity Division in DAS wouldn’t be getting pounded in his budget.

Filed Under: Blog, Economy & Business, Kasich Administration, Ohio Economy, Ohio Politics & Government, Politics Tagged With: John Kasich, Nina Turner, Ohio Budget, OLBC

Kasich Budget Will Slash Minority and Women’s Interests in State Purchasing

March 17, 2011 By Pelikan 2 Comments

If John Kasich has made up any ground with the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus over the past six weeks, he may have lost it by proposing to gut the Equal Opportunity Division within the state’s Dept. of Administrative Services.

Kasich’s budget plan calls for cutting the funding by more than half over two years for the organization that manages two programs that foster minority-owned small businesses in Ohio by getting them involved in state contracting opportunities. The operating funds for EOD will be cut by 45% in FY 2012 and an additional 8% in FY 2013. (Page D-17 of Blue Book (linked) Fund 1880 ALI 100649)

The Daily Graphic: Gallup’s Top 10 – and Bottom 10 Places in U.S. on Well-Being Index

March 16, 2011 By Pelikan 1 Comment

Ouch. Two areas in Ohio are listed with the bottom scores in Gallup’s 2010 Well-Being Index:

According to Gallup, the Well-Being Index is:

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index provides an in-depth, real-time view of Americans’ well-being, giving governments, communities, employers, and health plans unmatched insight into the health of their populations. The Well-Being Index is an average of six sub-indexes: Life Evaluation, Physical Health, Emotional Health, Healthy Behavior, Work Environment, and Basic Access.

Gallup and Healthways are interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day, nearly 350 days a year. Respondents are asked a series of 56 questions related to their health and well-being.