Ed FitzGerald assails Ohio budget as harmful to middle-class families, the poor and women
Updated Jan 12, 2019; Posted Jun 28, 2013
Ed FitzGerald
By Robert Higgs, cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cuyahoga County Executive and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald went to Columbus today to weigh in with his criticism of the state budget that Republican lawmakers approved Thursday.
The budget, he said, illustrates the sharp contrast between Republican Gov. John Kasich and himself, FitzGerald said. In his view, the budget hurts the middle class and hurts the poor and unfairly targets women's choice without the benefit of public input. Were he governor, FitzGerald said, he would use the line-item veto rigorously.
"The governor represents the whole state, not just one district. There's a time when the governor should stand up when a legislative body gets off track and say this is what's right and this is what's wrong," FitzGerald said at a news conference, hours before a media event scheduled for this afternoon by Kasich. "If a legislature gets on the wrong track and heads in an extreme direction, the governor has the power and the responsibility to do something about it."
Kasich, with Senate President Keith Faber and House Speaker William G. Batchelder, will discuss the two-year, $62 billion budget with reporters later at the Governor's Mansion in Bexley.
Among the budget's major provisions are a phased-in 10 percent cut in income taxes, a tax cut for small businesses and an increase in the state sales tax from 5.5 percent to 5.75 percent.
The budget will eliminate the 12.5 percent property tax reduction for homeowners for any new taxes, which would add to homeowners' costs for school levies and other local tax issues.
Lawmakers also changed the eligibility for the homestead exemption that seniors receive on their property taxes, so that future seniors will get the exemption only if their incomes are no greater than $30,000.
Anti-abortion measures also were added to the budget that would strip funds from Planned Parenthood, ban abortion providers from entering into transfer agreements with public hospitals and require women seeking abortions to undergo ultrasounds.
Republicans said the plan will keep Ohio's economic recovery on track and create more jobs for Ohioans.
FitzGerald, echoing the sentiments of fellow Democrats in the legislature, said the budget would hurt middle-class families and women.
"This budget is just a train wreck for the middle class." he said. "What you're seeing happen is you're seeing income tax cuts for the very wealthiest people in the state being paid for overall by really increasing overall the tax burden on the middle class and the poor.
"We have a tax shift that is being proposed in this state, and it's indefensible in my opinion."
He cited specifically the increase to the state sales tax and the elimination of the property tax reductions.
"For ordinary Ohioans, middle-class Ohioans, poor Ohioans, they're getting stuck with an enormous bill, and the wealthiest Ohioans are getting an average of a $6,000 tax cut."
While acknowledging that some of the more controversial proposals in the budget were inserted by the Legislature, Kasich will be taking ownership of any proposals he allows to remain in the budget before he signs it, FitzGerald said.
"There are just a few moments, just a few windows in time when a campaign for governor is going on when there is a real clear contrast between the two people who are likely to be Ohio's next governor, and this is one of those moments," FitzGerald said. "The differences couldn't be more clear in my opinion."