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| What was I thinking? John Kasich has not even been sworn in as Ohio's next governor, and he is already costing the state money and jobs.He is the one, you may recall, who campaigned on creating jobs in Ohio, but now that he is elected, he's not talking so much about jobs. By declaring that he is going to kill Governor Strickland's modern passenger rail plan for Ohio, he has effectively forced the Transportation Department to send the money ($385 million) that was allotted to Ohio to other states and with the money go the jobs. But this is just the beginning; wait until he is governor and starts laying off state employees as his agenda necessitates. |
Prior to the election, Ohio was moving ahead to create a modern, efficient railway system that could eventually become a high-speed system linking Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, but now Kasich has declared that trains are dead -- something that warms the hearts of Dick Cheney and Big Oil oligarchs who dumped big money into his election.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D, OH) reacted: "It's a great day for New Yorkers and Californians but a truly disappointing one for Ohioans waiting for jobs and waiting for passenger rail. With so many Ohioans struggling, I don't understand why we would give up on funds that create thousands of jobs and promote millions of dollars worth of economic development."
Outgoing Governor Strickland said: "I fear that history will show that this one uninformed decision will be looked aupon with regret by future generations of Ohioans,"
And the future is what it is all about. Senator Brown observes, "It's not just manufacturing and construction jobs we're losing. It's lost economic development opportunities along the proposed route and surrounding the proposed stations. By turning our backs on this federal investment, we are turning our backs on opportunity to bring rail manufacturing jobs to Ohio."
Personally, I tend to think that Kasich's Wall Street buddies from Lehman Brothers (no sisters there?) were the ones who told him "the train is dead" -- meaning that a modern, efficient passenger railway system will not be good for their bottom line.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D, OH) reacted: "It's a great day for New Yorkers and Californians but a truly disappointing one for Ohioans waiting for jobs and waiting for passenger rail. With so many Ohioans struggling, I don't understand why we would give up on funds that create thousands of jobs and promote millions of dollars worth of economic development."
Outgoing Governor Strickland said: "I fear that history will show that this one uninformed decision will be looked aupon with regret by future generations of Ohioans,"
And the future is what it is all about. Senator Brown observes, "It's not just manufacturing and construction jobs we're losing. It's lost economic development opportunities along the proposed route and surrounding the proposed stations. By turning our backs on this federal investment, we are turning our backs on opportunity to bring rail manufacturing jobs to Ohio."
Personally, I tend to think that Kasich's Wall Street buddies from Lehman Brothers (no sisters there?) were the ones who told him "the train is dead" -- meaning that a modern, efficient passenger railway system will not be good for their bottom line.
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