Ohio House Budget Favors Corporations and Wealthy

[upstatecajun]

Many corporate and wealthy investors to the Governor and Republican Ohio House members celebrated last week. And it wasn't because it was Cinco de Mayo. Rather, the Ohio House passed a budget bill that will, if enacted, directly benefit corporations and wealthy Ohioans.

Business corporations received (appropriate on Cinco de Mayo) five legislative piñatas by the Ohio House stuffed with potential windfalls for various business corporations.

1. Leasing liquor sales. Ohioans like to drink alcohol. Liquor sales is very profitable for the state. The House bill calls for leasing liquor distribution operations to a corporation. The money from the lease will be used to fund the already privatized ("corporatized" is a more descriptive term) JobsOhio - the corporate entity created earlier this year meant to replace the public Ohio Department of Development. JobsOhio itself is unconstitutional. A lawsuit was filed recently by Progress Ohio challenging the constitutionality of JobsOhio. You knew liquor would be involved in this bill passed on this day in some way!


2. Charter schools. The Ohio bill permits more charters across the state and for-profit corporations to launch and operate charters without the oversight of a sponsor. Charter advocate and head of White Hat Management corporation, Akronite David Brennan, is a major political contributor/investor to Republicans. If this provision stands, he got much more than his moneys worth.

http://www.liberalohioan.com/Coleridge-OH_Budget.html