Ohio Legislature Leads Nation Toward a U.S. Balanced Budget Amendment

From the Balanced Budget Task Force

LEESBURG, Virginia (November 20, 2013) - Today, the Ohio General Assembly answered Governor John Kasich's call to action by passing a resolution, with bipartisan support, demanding that Congress set the time and place for a Convention of the States to draft a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Article V of the Constitution provides both Congress and the states with equal authority to propose an amendment. Under Article V. of the U.S. Constitution thirty-four states need to pass a similar resolution to initiate a convention for the sole purpose of drafting a balanced budget amendment.

The total U.S. debt has increased every year since 1957. Now, only 12 countries out of world's 196 have a higher debt to G.D.P. ratio than does the U.S. (102%). Among these are Greece - 157%, Zimbabwe-151%, Jamaica-146%, Italy-127% and Portugal -124%.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen stated, "I've said many times that I believe the single, biggest threat to our national security is our debt."

Read more here.

NYT features battleground Ohio

It will be like nothing we have ever seen before.  Brace yourselves.

NYT has it here.

Array of organizations changing political and legislative landscape in Ohio

It's not your imagination: the game is changing

COASTers felt mighty lonely during the George Voinovich and Bob Taft years in Governor's mansion. Year after year, the latest budget crisis was universally met with one solution: higher taxes and increased spending.

What a change it has been this year! What happened?

First, we have better elected officials. With John Kasich as Governor, Tom Niehaus leading the Senate and Bill Batchelder leading the House, a limited government agenda seems to rule the day.

Second, we have a public that was burned once by Voinovich, a second time by Bob Taft, and the horrible legislatures that served under each of them. They weren't going to tolerate yet another administration selling out the taxpayers.

Third, several state-wide organizations are educating voters, and holding legislators' and the Governor's feet to the fire. Here are just a few:

• Ohio's Buckeye Institute is a think tank that has cranked out scholarly studies showing the negative effect of Ohio's anti-competitive taxes and regulations on residents and businesses. Recently they have rolled out their state-wide salary databases that graphically show the bloated public salaries throughout Ohio and empower local citizens to fight the excesses. The database has gotten 3.5 million hits since launched just 16 months ago.

• The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law has pursued aggressive legal strategies of enforcing the state and federal constitutional limitations on government authority and formulating legislative proposals to implement a conservative agenda. The 1851 Center drafted the Ohio Healthcare Freedom Amendment that will be on the ballot this fall. They especially focus on area of economic freedoms. COASTer Chris Finney sits on the Board of Directors of the 1851 Center.

• Americans for Prosperity, Ohio Chapter. This national organization that has helped immeasurably on budget and regulatory measures, has a significant Ohio presence. It's executive director Rebecca Heimlichhas traveled the state to rally citizens on issue of local, state and national interest. AFP-Ohio helped secure the repeal of the Ohio Estate Tax, and assisted COAST in cutting off $52 million in state funding for the Cincinnati Streetcar project.

These organizations, along with COAST, the Tea Parties, Empower U and others are working hand-in-hand with our elected officials to force the kinds of changes Ohio desperately needs to become competitive for jobs and residents going forward.

Story needs to be told: How Ohio Estate Tax battle was won

Vision of three men, sweat of hundreds of volunteers and courage of 81 state legislators strike bad tax

COAST Newsletter reported in July on the elimination of the Ohio Estate Tax as part of its reporting on the passage of Governor Kasich's budget. But what we did not properly do was to tell the story on how a ragtag band of volunteers, without the backing of any major financier, managed to re-write the Ohio tax code to eliminate a bad tax.

The campaign started with the vision of a single small business owner from Dayton, Ohio: Ron Alban. For decades, Ohioans had discussed eliminating the estate tax, the worst in the nation and one that was driving businesses and residents from the state.

Soon, Ron first signed up limited government advocate Jack Boyle from Cleveland and then COAST Board member Dan Regenold. They conceived of a state-wide ballot issue known as an "initiated legislation," that first forces the Ohio legislature to address the proposal, and if they won't act, to place the issue before the voters. Gena Bell, a influential Tea Party leader, joined the Coalition and brought the Tea Party and Liberty groups on board and was also responsible for gathering support within the Ohio Farm Bureau.

Ultimately, they enlisted 1700 volunteers, and collected 85,000+ signatures state wide.

In parallel, they brought together a coalition of grass root and traditional groups to support repeal. Grass root groups included COAST, tea parties, Americans for Prosperity, and the Ohio Christian Alliance. Support from traditional groups included the Farm Bureau, Funeral Directors, the Manufacturer's Assoc., Ohio Chamber and many more. National groups such as Americans for Tax Reform and the National Taxpayer's Union were enlisted in the cause.

When Republicans took over the Governor's office and both houses of the State legislature in November of 2010, instantly prospects of resolution short of a public vote improved. Governor Kasich had publicly endorsed the repeal during his election campaign.

Then, it got interesting.

The City of Shaker Heights in the Cleveland area, Loveland, Oakwood in the Dayton area, and a few other cities hired high-priced lobbyists at taxpayer expense to fight the volunteer, self-funded effort. Attorneys from COAST and the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law threatened these municipalities with a suit if they didn't repeal the funding using a "taxpayer letter" signed by local volunteer, 77-year old Sylvia DeFranco. Instead, of repealing the funding, the cities of Shaker Heights, Loveland and Oakwood sued their own taxpayer -- Ms. DeFranco.

Outraged by the litigation attack on the taxpayer, Americans for Prosperity sent an action alert to its members, and generated more than 60,000 messages to the Ohio legislature, condemning the tactics of the allied municipalities (using tax monies) and demanding the estate tax repeal. The coalition of groups from Ohio and Washington sent strong messages in support of repeal to Columbus.

Concurrently, a group of 19 House members urged Speaker Batchelder to assure the repeal was included in the final budget bill.

In the end, the repeal was included in the biennial budget bill, and Ohio's Estate Tax is history.

A big COAST salute goes to Alban, Regenold and Boyle. You have shown us the possibilities of citizen activism.

Streetcar wounded, but defiantly soldiers on

 In a show of pointless persistence, second only to the example above, City leaders say the streetcar is still a "go project."

1. (Left arm) Before resigning from Council, former Democratic Jeff Berding appoints Republican Wayne Lippert, who vows to vote against the streetcar until the City gets its finances in order. Council is now comprised of 4 anti-streetcar Republicans, 4 pro-streetcar Democratics, and 1 pro-streetcar Charterite who is a registered Republican and tends to vote that way. However Charterite Bortz is forbidden from having anything to do with the streetcar due to ethical conflicts. Under council rules (PDF Pg 14, #6.6), "on a tie vote, the matter is lost."
   "'Tis but a scratch...I've had worse."
2. (Right arm) ODOT personnel today advised Ohio's TRAC board to reallocate all $51.8 million that had been previously recommended for the streetcar. Two of the ten board members expressed reservations about defunding a project assigned the highest score under the old Molitoris rules. We kindly refer them to PDF page 24 of TRAC's Policy & Procedures, which says, "It should be emphasized that the TRAC process does not require that a selected project have a numeric ranking nor that the TRAC must fund projects in order of their ranking. The ranking is a means to help the TRAC generally prioritize and rank projects in order of their transportation and community/economic development benefits." "It is explicit TRAC policy that projects can be selected regardless of their score, ranking, cost, or functional class. The reason is that no ranking system can completely measure all project attributes. If other factors arise that the TRAC finds important to a project, the TRAC can select the project for funding."
   "Just a flesh wound."
3. (Right leg) The Ohio Senate unanimously passed HB114, the transportation budget, including a provision which “prohibits state or federal funds appropriated by the state from being used for the Cincinnati streetcar project.” The Feds purposely pass funds through the state first so they have recourse for funds recovery should the recipient city go bankrupt. Legislators obviously see the project as something less than a guaranteed money-maker.
   "Right, I'll do you for that...kill yah. ...I'm invincible!"
4. (Left leg) Councilmember Charlie Winburn introduces a "cease and desist" motion in Council to halt all spending and activity on the streetcar. Citing the police/sheriff outsourcing deal as precedent, he reminds the City that when the votes aren't there to see a project through, it's best to abandon it before wasting everybody's time.
   "All right, we'll call it a draw...I'll bite your legs off."

Not dead yet...but it might as well be.

Please thank Governor Kasich for cutting streetcar funding!

Common sense returns to Ohio 

COAST was thrilled to see Mayor Mallory concede today that Governor Kasich is pulling state funding for the Cincinnati streetcar project.  

COAST asks that its members write to Governor Kasich and thank him for this bold, fresh, common sense approach to Ohio's and Cincinnati fiscal challenges.

This decision is a major win for streetcar opponents and is a direct result of your overwhelming grassroots efforts to defeat streetcar funding.  Opponents of the streetcar flooded Ohio's Department of Transportation with more than 2,000 letters and e-mails opposing state funding for this boondoggle.  

Unfortunately, you would think this would be the final nail in the coffin of the ill-conceived streetcar project, but unfortunately it just is not so.   

First, Mayor Mallory continues to lobby federal officials for more streetcar funds.  Second, Mallory told the Enquirer today that he still intends to finish the streetcar project. Finally, perhaps as early as today, Cincinnati City Council plans to vote on accepting state and federal funding for the project (yeah, even if it is going to be yanked).  If they City signs a contract with the federal government for its $25 million grant, it will require the City to operate the streetcar at a loss for 35+ years. 

All of this is in spite of the fact that (i) the City does not have the capital funds to build the project, (ii) the City has no plan and no monies to fund the $10 million operating deficit, and (iii) there already have been more than $15 million in cost overruns identified, all of which must come from the City's general fund.  Finally, only 28% of City residents think the streetcar project is a good idea.

Call your Council member today (352-3000) to ask them to oppose the approval of the acceptance of the state and federal grants. Cecil Thomas (352-3499) seems to be the most on the fence.

Thank you Governor Kasich for saving us from these politicians bent on bankrupting the City.

Stop streetcar tax hikes

Ohio's Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) recommended [lines 10 & 39] that $51.8 million of your tax dollars be given to the Cincinnati Streetcar.

The state has an $8 BILLION deficit. To fill this shortfall, drastic cuts to schools, universities, Medicaid and public safety are expected. Local levies will then seek increases to makeup for state reductions. In other words, your taxes are likely going up to pay for a streetcar that nobody needs and few people want.

Public comments on TRAC's recommendation are being accepted until February 11th. If comments prove Ohioans don't want the streetcar, these bad outcomes can be avoided.

1. CLICK HERE to send your comments to TRAC. A new message will open in your email program. If asked, allow it permission.
2. Fill in your name and mailing address at the bottom of the message.
3. Edit the body of the message to tell them what's most important to you.

Feel free to use the following facts as background:

• The Cincinnati Streetcar project will run only 3 miles (6-mile loop) (from National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to top of Vine Street Hill, Corryville);
• It has an initial projected cost of $128 million for construction only. The City already has identified cost overruns of $15 million for Duke Energy to move utility lines, bringing total projected costs to $143 million. More cost overruns are sure to follow. All cost overruns must come from the City's budget.
• The City has absolutely no plan, no idea how it will fund the operations of the streetcar, which former SORTA Board Member Stephan Louis estimates to be $10-$12 million per year.
• The City has no room in its operating budget for this additional cost, having papered over a $52 million deficit this year and facing police and fire layoffs by as early as this summer.
• 12 community organizations and numerous elected officials have united against this project the Cincinnati Tea Party, COAST, the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP, The Baptist Ministers Conference of Cincinnati Vicinity, the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, the Hamilton County Green Party, Westwood Concern, the FOP, the Firefighters union and the CODE Labor Union.

You may also send comments by regular mail to:
Ohio Department of Transportation
attn: Ed Kagel TRAC Coordinator
1980 W. Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43223

Cincinnati homicide rate leads Ohio

Enquirer reports that we led the state last year with 21.6 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Cleveland was 2nd at 18.6.
Columbus was 3rd at 13.7.
Toledo was 4th at 8.2.

Decimating our safety forces to fund a streetcar is obviously premature.

New Red Light Camera Initiatives in 2011

South Euclid

Very-North-COASTer Grant McCollum in South Euclid (another Cleveland suburb) guarantees a red light camera ban will be on the ballot there in 2011, and Cleveland and Toledo drives are well underway.

East Cleveland and the City of Hamilton

            COAST also has been asked to draft initiatives for the cities of East Cleveland and Hamilton, Ohio.  If COASTers know of activists that would like to help organize in these two communities, please contact Chris Finney at Legal@gocoast.org

Vote Kasich; he'll kill "high speed" pork

Who was it that said insanity is expecting a different outcome from identical inputs?

Ohio is facing a $9 billion deficit which will result in deep cuts to education and safety. We got into this hole by overspending on frivolous things. Now Governor Strickland wants to waste even more money to revive a 39 MPH train that died from lack of use in 1976, one which voters have rejected at the polls four times.

Spending your way out of a deficit is like eating yourself out of obesity. Kasich gets this and wants to cut the pork. If elected, he promises to kill the 3C Snail Rail Boondoggle.

Robert Samuelson says:

"Somehow, it's become fashionable to think that high-speed trains connecting major cities will help "save the planet." They won't. They're a perfect example of wasteful spending masquerading as a respectable social cause. They would further burden already overburdened governments and drain dollars from worthier programs -- schools, defense, research."

"President Obama calls high-speed rail essential "infrastructure" when it's actually old-fashioned "pork barrel." The interesting question is why it retains its intellectual respectability. The answer, it seems, is willful ignorance. People prefer fashionable make-believe to distasteful realities. They imagine public benefits that don't exist and ignore costs that do."

"The absurdity is apparent. High-speed rail would subsidize a tiny group of travelers and do little else. If states want these projects, they should pay all costs because there are no meaningful national gains. The administration's championing and subsidies -- with money that worsens long-term budget deficits -- represent shortsighted, thoughtless government at its worst. It's a triumph of politically expedient fiction over logic and evidence. With governments everywhere pressed for funds, how can anyone justify a program whose main effect will simply be to make matters worse?"

How indeed. It's time to make matters better. To change the outcome, we need to change the governor. Elect John Kasich and Mary Taylor.

David Yost will be great State Auditor

Seven reasons to vote for Yost

David Yost is COAST-endorsed candidate for State Auditor

COAST provides you with these seven reasons to support David Yost for State Auditor:

1. Yost is COAST-endorsed, the seal of approval for advocates for limited government.  Read all the COAST endorsements here.
2. Yost also has been endorsed by the Ohio Society of Certified Professional Accountants for this important role "in large part due to his past experience and future priorities."
3. Yost is a former County Auditor and County prosecutor, with real experience in rooting out corruption and inefficency in government.  He has exposed corruption by a coronor, a sheriff and a clerk of courts. 
4. Yost has taken the ATR pledge against raising taxes.  His opponent refuses to take the pledge.
5. The State Auditor seat is one of the State's "Apportionment Board" seats, meaning that the winner of this contest will play an important role in re-drawing legislative districts.  That's why labor unions have poured more than $500,000 into the campaign of his liberal democrat opponent -- they want to control that process!
6. Yost won the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting four times from the Government Finance Officers Association.
7. And, most importantly, Yost is running for State Auditor against big-spending democrat David Pepper who recklessly has tried to raise taxes and fees repeatedly on Hamilton County residents. 

Help us to restore integrity to Ohio government.  Please vote David Yost for State Auditor. 

Read all of COAST's fall 2010 endorsements here.

Mike Wilson - A Taxpayer Hero

Mike Wilson is a taxpayer hero

Founder of Tea Party in Cincinnati and Ohio, spurred national movement

Mike Wilson -- founder of the movement

COAST has endorsed Mike Wilson for State Representative, but this is no ordinary endorsement and Wilson is no ordinary candidate.

Roll the clock back to March of 2009.  The Obama agenda of the Stimulus bill, TARP II, Cap and Trade, and ObamaCare were marching forward with almost no opposition in Washington.

Mike Wilson and a band of ragtag local activists noted a smattering of grass-roots protests in western states have attracted more support than expected.  He makes the decision to take personal action against the socialization of America. 

And the Cincinnati Tea Party was born with more than 5,000 persons at a March 15 rally on Fountain Square.  That was followed by an even bigger rally and march to City Hall on April 15.  We all knew something very important was happening.

Ummm, conservatives were not supposed to hold protest rallies.  What was this?  A slow and skeptical media took a while to catch on, but a national movement had been born.

Then, and since that time, Mike Wilson has proven to be an articulate and principled spokesperson for the Tea Party movement that has become the target of Obama, Pelosi and Reed, the national media, labor unions and other constituents of the national socialist power structure.  Enemies have laid traps of claimed racism, extremism and naivety, all of which Wilson skillfully avoided, confronted and rebutted.

This year, Wilson steped down from head of the local and State Tea Parties to run for State Representative against lock-step liberal democrat Connie Pillich and we are better for his sacifice.

There are thousands of reasons why Wilson is the COAST-endorsed candidate for this job.  Suffice it to say that he is a transcendent figure that COAST hopes has an important role in shaping government policy for many, many years to come.  Read of his many endorsements here.

Please vote for Mike Wilson if you are in the 28th Ohio House District, which includes Reading, Evendale, Sharonville, Glendale, Wyoming, Forest Park, Lincoln Heights, Lockland, Blue Ash, Montgomery, Arlington Heights, and parts of Symmes and Springfield Townships and Springdale.

Read all of COAST's fall 2010 endorsements here.

After $17 million, spigot for Democrat Commissioners’ outside counsel is cut off

Will someone, anyone stop them from wasting our money, please!

More than two years ago, Prosecutor Joe Deters noted that the democrat Commissioners were wasting money on their political advisor and outside legal counsel, Tom Gableman and the firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease.  He asked repeatedly and politely for the Commissioners to properly supervise the work of the Vorys firm, and to rein in the spending.  Because the Commissioners were also getting free political counsel from the Vorys firm, the democrat Commissioners refused.

In October of last year, at Deters’ request, 12 of 13 Judge on the Common Pleas Court signed an Order terminating the Gableman/Vorys relationship.  Over the next few weeks, the Commission held a series of illegal secret meetings that culminated in Portune and Pepper voting to hire themselves as attorneys to represent the Commission in a lawsuit against their own Common Pleas Court Judges at the Ohio Supreme Court.  This suit has eaten up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees on both sides.

Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme ruled that the Pepper/Portune suit was filed in the wrong Court (great legal work David and Todd!) and lacked merit.  In short, the Common Pleas Court Judges were correct in terminating the Vorys relationship.

So, Messrs. Pepper and Portune, the fountain of taxpayer funding for your political consultants has been cut off.

COAST extends a hearty “Thank You” to Joe Deters for taking on this fight to cut off this waste of tax moneys!

Kasich captures lead on "no new tax" pledge

John Kasich had been trailing Ted Strickland in the polls by 5 or 6 points for several months in the Ohio Governor's race.

Then he signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge from Americans for Tax Reform, promising to oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.

Now the latest Rasmussen poll has Kasich leading Strickland by 5 points. The magic of fiscal conservatism works every time it's tried!

Strickland Scares Job Creators

In the last 5 years Ohio dropped 24 places when ranked by corporate CEOs in Chief Executive Magazine's Best & Worst States To Do Business issue. With only 51 contestants, thats's quite a precipitous decline...practically half the field.

Otherwise the list exhibits very little volatility. There was no change in the bottom five. The top ten shuffled around a bit, but largely included the same players.

"After employee work ethic, CEOs most highly prize lower tax rates and perceived attitudes toward business." Ohio didn't do half bad in workforce quality and living environment, the two things Governor Strickland might legitimately be able to pin on his predecessors. But our taxes and regulation drug us from middle of the top to middle of the bottom. And these have been fully under the Strickland Administration's control.

James Rhodes was widely ridiculed as being "in the pocket of big business." But he landed Honda's north american headquarters, and most of their manufacturing plants. Under Strickland, Honda built their latest plant in Indiana.

COAST has been a vocal critic of Governor Bob Taft, and his profligate tax and spend policies. But even Taft realized that driving away businesses would eventually kill the money tree.

The Strickland administration's hostility to those who would give us jobs is killing our economy. Substituting big government boondoggles like Third Frontier for real individual entrepeneurship makes matters worse.

We need a governor who knows how to make a buck in business. It's time to elect John Kasich.

The death of common sense

Two rail proposals find paths to funding for same contractor

In the “death of common sense” category, COAST notes that the Ohio Controlling Board several weeks ago approved spending $26 million on a study of the slooow-speed 3-C diesel train line with engineering contractor Parsons-Brinkerhoff, categorizing it as an “operating expense,” to avoid the need for a 5^th Controlling Board vote. 

                A day earlier, Cincinnati City Council approved a $2.6 million study of the Cincinnati Trolley, calling it a “capital expenditure,” so they could justify the monies as not being available to put more police on the streets.  You guessed it: the Cincinnati study monies also go to Parsons-Brinkerhoff.  For those following the bouncing ball of public contracting, Parsons Brinkerhoff was the contractor for the failed, still-vacant Riverfront Transit Center.  That brilliant feat of engineering is a $42 million train station that cannot get trains to it and that has sat unused now for seven years. 

By the way, State Representative Louis Blessing has a new video out on the Slooow-speed 3-C train, here.

Estate tax, Health Care Petitions advance

            COAST is supporting petition drives to repeal Ohio’s Estate Tax and to prevent Obamacare  from being implemented in Ohio.  Click on the links above to learn how you can help with these important initiatives.

Hazy Lazy Crazy Train

State Senator Shannon Jones also thinks the 3C Snail Rail Boondoggle is a waste of taxpayer money:

Lately, we've heard a lot of talk about Governor Strickland's push to bring passenger rail to Ohio. It's time to set the record straight and make the facts known. Once you review the following information I think you'll agree that the Governor's priorities have gone off-track.

Thanks for taking a few moments to review the facts. I look forward to your feedback.

Shannon Jones
http://www.shannonjonesforsenate.com/

Click pics for larger view

Brinkman, COAST win injunction against State of Ohio

Federal District Court Judge Susan Dlott issues permanent injunction

against State "revolving door" statute  

Federal District Court Judge today issued a final decision in the case of Brinkman et al. v. Budish et al. that the State of Ohio's "revolving door' statute is unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction against the State of Ohio preventing its enforcement.  COAST and former State Representative Thomas E. Brinkman, Jr. originally brought the case because it prohibited volunteer lobbying by Brinkman on behalf of COAST for a period of one year after he left the legislature in December of 2008.

In her decision, Dlott ruled that the State statute violated the First Amendment rights of Brinkman and COAST because it was not narrowly tailored to address the legitimate state interest in preventing quid pro quo corruption, which is what Brinkman had argued in bringing the case.

The decision is here.  The original Complaint of Brinkman and COAST is here.

Widespread Agreement Against 3C Snail Rail Boondoggle

Throughout Ohio, editorials lambasting the 3C Snail Rail Boondoggle have been abundant. Below are some excerpts with links to source articles. First, some background:

"Three times -- in 1975, 1976 and 1982 -- Ohioans have decisively rejected the use of public money to finance passenger rail in Ohio, twice by breathtaking margins. In 1982, a proposal to build a high-speed rail system was defeated, 2,420,593 to 775,605. And there isn't the slightest doubt voters would react similarly if given a chance to kill the ridiculous rail plan now being pursued by Ohio's leaders -- a plan that would waste hundreds of millions in tax dollars.

High-speed rail remains an enticing idea for Ohio. But this is a state where political expediency almost always trumps what's best for the taxpayers. So the rail plan rolled out by Strickland will be such a colossal failure that when the time is ripe for Ohio to consider a rail idea that is clean, fast and thoughtful, voters will still be so furious over the debacle of 2010 that they'll probably reject it."

-Ohio is on track to waste a bundle of money on snail rail

Brent Larkin, Cleveland Plain Dealer

High speed?!? 79 MPH is not high speed.

"Yet that's the fastest that passenger trains between Cleveland and Cincinnati will go when they start running, possibly as soon as 2012. This puzzles and disappoints some Ohioans, especially because President Barack Obama announced new rail lines on Jan. 28 as cogs in a national "high speed" network.

A week later, a number of Ohioans, including lawmakers from both parties, are describing the eventual three-hour trip between Cleveland and Columbus as life in the slow lane. The $400 million-plus Ohio railroad would be slower than car travel, because the 79 mph top speeds cannot be reached consistently on a line that shares rails with freight trains.

"Why are we bothering with something that's low-tech?" asked congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Democrat of Toledo, in an interview with The Plain Dealer.

Higher speeds could be possible eventually. The Ohio Rail Development Commission says that with modifications, speeds of up to 110 mph on the 3C line could be reached by 2022. Anything faster than that, however, would require different tracks and could cost tens of billions of dollars."

-Ohioans wonder whether new rail line will be too slow, underutilized

Stephen Koff, The Plain Dealer

The devil really is in the details.

"Never mind, if you can, the money. The federal government doesn't have the $400 million. More than likely, our children and theirs will end up paying back the Chinese for the loan. And Ohio, with an impending $7 billion hole in the next two-year budget, can hardly afford the $17 million annual subsidy to operate the rail system.

From the start, the details have been squishy. Last March, the Ohio Department of Transportation said the project would cost $250 million. Several months later, the estimate was revised to $400 million. And after applying for $564 million in stimulus funding, ODOT now says $400 million will do the job.

Amtrak's self-serving estimate that 478,000 passengers a year will ride the Ohio trains, and Strickland's projection that restarting passenger-rail service will create at least 8,000 jobs and pour $1.2 billion into the state's economy are not grounded in exhaustive studies. More important than the boast that 6 million people live within 15 miles of the so-called 3C Corridor is how many live within 15 miles of those three train stations.

That's the rub. People will take the train if it is convenient and economical. As currently planned, this system is neither.

The four trains traveling the 3C corridor will average 39 mph, topping out at 79. Promoters tantalizing the prospect of 120-mph bullet trains eventually speeding along the corridor rarely mention that to accommodate those trains the tracks would have to be replaced.

The estimated $36 to $50 roundtrip ticket between Columbus and Cleveland or Cincinnati seems reasonable until you factor in the inevitable $120 hotel bill. The way the train schedules are structured, you could not travel to a Reds, Bengals, Indians or Browns game and return the same day. Ditto for Clevelanders and Cincinnatians taking the train to a Buckeyes football game.

The schedule also is not conducive for business travelers. Under a typical scenario, someone boarding the train in Cleveland would spend roughly 13 hours and 45 minutes away from home, with a maximum of about four hours and 45 minutes of meeting time in Columbus.

For those of us who romanticize about taking the train, reality has us stranded at the station."

-This train is bound for an inglorious fate, and that's too bad.

Joe Hallet, The Columbus Dispatch

Cleveland says screw Cincinnati and Dayton.

"For starters, state planners should begin with just 2Cs -- Cleveland and Columbus. If the same number of passenger train cars were to be purchased -- the biggest single projected expense is $175 million for five new trains, each with five passenger cars, a food car, a locomotive and a control car -- the service would be faster and the trains more frequent.

Local cost-sharing Requiring communities to pony up a good portion of the costs for any new stations or local upgrades would add to the political buy-in and free up money for extra rail and signal improvements to allow the trains to run a lot faster than the advertised maximum of 79 mph. Some of the federal grant could then be set aside for future expansion to Dayton and Cincinnati. Having local communities pay for train stations had been part of an earlier plan.

More frequent service and smarter scheduling into Cleveland would allow Ohio passenger rail to connect to the soon-to-be-high-speed Amtrak trains running the Midwest corridor from Chicago to New York and Washington, D.C., across the northern tier of Ohio.

Keeping the initial investment confined to 2Cs would probably contribute to a more amicable and seamless integration of passenger and freight in Ohio, too."

-Ohio travelers, cities and industry can reap great benefits--if Ohio leverages federal passenger rail money well

The Plain Dealer Editorial Board

Newark doesn't think it will work, but can't bear to say "No".

"Ohio's initial rail offerings will be quite weak in the eyes of consumers who almost always will pick the easiest, fastest and cheapest option for travel, especially in our quick-paced modern world.
 
From a Licking County perspective, at least, we seriously doubt many will drive to Columbus, pay to park their car downtown, buy for a train ticket, wait for the train, then ride either direction at a maximum speed of 79 mph for about three hours and still need transportation to their final destination. One could argue even residents of Columbus might not desire so much trouble when they just can hop in their cars.

Thus, there's a real chance this entire project, despite its ability to create new jobs, could become a major drain on state coffers at a time when Ohio faces a budget deficit of at least $7 billion for 2011-13.

With that said, Ohio's rail project might be worth the financial risk."

-Ohio's rail project might be worth the financial risk

Newark Advocate

Will anybody ride this train?

"It may be a boon to students and the elderly. Some will take the train because it’s fun, or because it’s ecologically friendly. But we can’t build a passenger rail network based on the people who fall in these categories; there simply won’t be enough riders to justify the investment.
 
The vast majority of projected riders will have a choice, and these riders will look for convenience, economy and fast service. I don’t think they will find it.

For example, under the proposed 3C schedule, a family of four going from Dayton to Cincinnati to spend a day at the zoo would drive to downtown Dayton at 8 a.m., take the 8:24 train for 1.5 hours to downtown Cincinnati, take a bus to Clifton, and be at the zoo no earlier than 10:30 a.m.

They will have to leave the zoo at 3:30, so they can make the last train at 4:15 and are home by 6 p.m.

Total transit time: 5 hours. Total cost: $73. (Four round-trip train tickets at roughly $60, bus fare at $8 and Dayton parking at $5.)

Compare that to driving less than two hours in a car for about $60 ($.51 per mile based on IRS estimates and $10 in parking).

Without sufficient ridership, the proposed benefits to Ohioans are diminished because benefits of reduced traffic congestion and smog are generated when trains are well-used. If ridership is low, the high fixed costs and up-front investments of rail cause the cost per-passenger to skyrocket.

The challenge facing 3C planners is to create a system that provides convenience at a reasonable price to encourage ridership. I hope they succeed, but I’m not sure enough Ohioans will find the proposed rail system either fast or frequent enough to be worthwhile."

-3C line will probably suffer from too few passengers

Michael Gorman, Dayton Daily News 

It's too much money; money we don't have.

"The Obama administration and Congress are sending a trainload of $8 billion to Ohio and various other states to spur rail development, but this is a problematic gift. This is money the federal government doesn't have, and spending it adds to the annual budget deficit and the national debt.

If the economy were humming along and the state and federal governments had their budgets in balance, perhaps investing in futuristic rail projects would make some sense. But that just isn't the case.

Expanded passenger rail someday might divert travelers off roads and out of planes, helping to relieve congestion on the ground and in the air, but trains virtually everywhere require tax subsidies. And Americans these days have little or no spare money to prop up such operations."

-Money for rail deepens federal debt, won't help with Ohio's urgent needs

Editorial, Columbus Dispatch

Want to know what you can do about it?

"...before interstate highways and reliable cars were available, train service made sense. Now it doesn't, unless it's the 200-mph service like they have in Europe and Japan...

...the only way huge investments like this make sense is that if they change the equation. If we can put business folks in these other cities in a fraction of the time it takes them to drive, and at a competitive price, trains might make sense.

Why spend this money on the train when the money can be put to better uses that will benefit a greater number of people when there is little expected use means taxpayers will be funding it for years to come.

To whom in Congress or state government should letters/e-mails be written to express the concern and displeasure — in hopes of avoiding future obligations in the state or putting this money to more productive uses?

Well, my only advice is to organize a letter/phone/e-mail campaign urging your state and federal representatives to revisit this issue. Right now, it appears that Gov. Strickland and a handful of others are so desperate to create even a modest number of jobs that they don't stop to think about what it's adding to our country's long-term debt problem.

I wish our state leaders would start acting responsibly rather than grab any bucket of federal money they can get their hands on."

-Off track

Brian Tucker, Crain's Cleveland Business

2010-02-09 Update: Actually we're trying to cheerlead against this failure because it moves Ohio backwards. It won't "create at least 8,000 new jobs" either. Heck, it won't even have one fourth that many daily riders.

"Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is lashing out at critics of the state's plan to use $400 million in federal stimulus money for a startup rail service, calling them "cheerleaders for failure."

Strickland said Tuesday he's tired of people who attack every idea that comes along and always look for something negative to say. The governor said that's not the way to move Ohio forward.

Strickland, a Democrat running for re-election, said the plan will create at least 8,000 jobs and is a first step toward building a passenger rail infrastructure.

Some Republicans have questioned the plan, and newspapers have been full of letters to the editor on the topic, some supportive, some critical.

Strickland said other states would have rejoiced to receive $400 million in federal funding."

-Strickland Upset with rail critics

Ohio News Network