Doug's Views – Page 76 – Ocassional Thoughts of an Independent Progressive Atheistic Humanist

August 28, 2011April 18, 2020

“Actually, it’s a lot of work being poor” : Facts from one Ohio county

Long line starts early at Unemployment office

Just hearing the talking points makes me angry so forgive me if I sound angry. Someone will make a comment or bitch about “welfare queens” and about how these lazy poor people have wide-screen TVs and microwaves. If these comments come from friends and family, who should know better, it really drives me insane. Finally my hometown newspaper did me a solid and now I have some facts and figures to fight those biased FOX “news” talking points about poor people.

On Monday, August 22nd, the Findlay Ohio Courier had an article talking about the recent retirement of Judy Wauford, as director of the Hancock County Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). In Ohio, ODJFS handles the state and federal social safety net programs like unemployment, Medicaid, food stamps, and child support enforcement. The piece included some actual facts and data about the poor in Hancock county.

August 20, 2011April 18, 2020

Ohio GOP will lie to keep from having to admit they were wrong on SB-5

If you see a report on the news of Governor Kasich sitting in almost empty room complaining and blustering about the Unions not showing up to work out a compromise to get state issue 2 off the ballot – it was all great theater – a lie but great theater. He refused to talk back in February when SB-5 was forced through. Contrary to his bluster it looks like the Republicans are divided not the unions.

Here is a clip from the Capital Blog of the Kasich photo-op Friday (8/19/11):

August 13, 2011April 18, 2020

“But Rep. Paul Ryan has a BA in economics…”

What really drives me insane about the debt ceiling debate and discussions about cutting spending when the economy is in the tank is the politicians in DC ignoring the people who actually do economics as a job. Paul Ryan’s budget, Obama’s grand bargain, and the final deal all ignore the economic facts. Recently a tea party Republican was schooled by the Congressional Budget Office and I think all cheap labor conservatives need to read the detail of the event.

I had the following conversation with a conservative friend of mine recently:

August 12, 2011April 18, 2020

On major issues, Republican views have been different

During the recent debt ceiling debate the GOP and their right wing propaganda machine harped on the fact that then Senator Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006. He admitted that his vote was political but wasn’t needed to pass or defeat the raise. I learned today that the Republicans have also had changed views on taxes, favoring corporations, and health care reform.

According to Politifact, Senator Obama’s vote was typical and not needed:

August 11, 2011April 18, 2020

Plunderbund catches Columbus Dispatch trying to make a deal for the GOP about SB-5

Columbus Dispatch HQ in downtown Columbus

The great Ohio political blog Plunderbund had a great post about some stories appearing in the Columbus Dispatch recently calling for a compromise between the state GOP and labor unions in order to remove Issue 2 from the ballot. Issue 2 is the referendum over Senate Bill 5 that stripped collective bargaining from public employees. It turns out that the Dispatch was closer to the issue than they let on.