Plain Dealer Hack Rips Those Who Want the Income Tax Gone

Cleveland Plain Dealer liberal hack Thomas Suddes wrote a disgusting column filled with all sorts of vile innuendo and sarcasm that ultimately makes his position that much harder to sell. Suddes is against repealing the state income tax.

Personally, I think repealing the state income tax would go a LONG way towards Turning Ohio Around, but it appears as if the liberals in this state really aren't all that in to delivering on their promises.

On the other hand, the state income tax represent a significant portion of the state's revenue stream. As previously discussed, I'd be more than interested in hearing what offsets are being considered. The income tax represents 34% of the state's income and you can't just snap your fingers and let that go poof without some serious consideration.

Fortunately, we have some serious people looking in to it. Locally, State Reps. Courtney Combs and Bill Coley are co-sponsors of legislation that would eliminate the tax. There is one problem that these guys are going to have to be careful with and that is Medicare:

In Ohio counties represented wholly or partly by the lead sponsors of the income tax repeal, nursing home care cost Ohio Medicaid nearly $85 million in 2007. Income tax repeal - assuming it took a 17-cent bite out of every Medicaid dollar - could have hammered that down to $71 million. That would have meant a lot of older Ohioans - in these counties, mainly older Ohio Republicans - would either have been on the street or getting nursing home care inadequate for their ages and health.

That same 17 percent reduction would similarly slash nursing home care by $60 million in other counties represented partly or wholly by the repeal bill's 17 other sponsors, led by a $12 million reduction in nursing home care in Butler County, near Cincinnati. As it happens, two of Butler's three Republican state representatives, Bill Coley, of West Chester - John Boehner country - and Courtney Combs, of Fairfield, are co-sponsors of the Adams-Collier repeal bill.

I think Suddes is making some rather broad assumptions here because I don't think anybody is talking about cutting Medicare benefits. But clearly there are going to have to be spending cuts somewhere...and those are the details that are either going to make or break this proposal.

Note to Mr. Suddes...Fairfield is also John Boehner country...maybe if you got out of your office or the local Starbucks you'd know that.