T i m   K e t t l e r .   .   .   s t a t e    s e n a t e   2 0 0 8

 

Tim Kettler . . . for Ohio . . . for District 20 . . . for you   

 

And Now for Something Not So Entirely Different!

For the sake of this discussion let’s just assume that we are all rational thinking citizens who have witnessed the most destructive succession of events in our country in perhaps, our lifetimes. We have
seen the illegal invasion and occupation of a foreign nation under false pretenses depleting our national treasure and more importantly causing the countless loss of innocent life and security. In the
prosecution of that invasion and occupation we have willingly (as a nation) given up our civil liberties, our daily lives that we were so urged to continue in the face of terrorist attack. We have been
subjected to the sacking of our economy for the benefit of multi-national corporations and the degradation of human rights on behalf of a for-profit health care system that makes decisions on patient care in line with the bottom line. Our legislators have continued to kow-tow to the fossil fuel industry in the face of record fuel prices, an industry that continually reports record quarterly profits and works daily to quash a waiting green economy.  Our workforce has seen the ever-nearing end of organized labor, our
country’s last line of defense for workers’ rights and the self-determination of dignity. Our leaders have fueled the expansion of religious extremism that mirrors the foreign religious extremism our
leaders rail against, the same religious extremism that would usurp the constitution and deprive a woman of her rights. And all the while we continue to wallow in the farce of an elections system that discourages
participation and is owned by private corporations amid a growing procession of elected officials on their way to prison.

But wait, there’s hope! In an unprecedented voter turnout the Democrats were swept into congressional office and poised to retake the White House. As we all knew they would move quickly to force an end to the war and had a plan to respond to our concerns. Oopps!!!

In recent days the Democrat-led Congress has once again voted to continue funding of the occupation of Iraq in direct conflict of their campaign promise. They have capitulated on FISA, extending immunity to
lawbreakers in an assault on our civil liberties. Senator Obama has backed out of public financing for elections, instead choosing to accept millions of dollars in corporate-interest money from the Democrat Party under the guise of a populist funded campaign. Weak of will but strong on political correctness he has been dragged in a tit-for-tat demonstration of who is more religious when religion in government is not an issue for campaigns. And in the face of our greatest economic challenge the end of the oil economy, our leaders are teetering on the brink of consenting to the eminent domain seizure of OUR public lands to drill oil for the enrichment of their friends in the industry. All of this and not a passing word of acknowledgement of their capitulation in the stealing of the last two presidential elections, in the name of protecting the process, to be sure!

But honestly there is hope. It will require us to join together to challenge these people and their policies at every turn. No more can we expect them to someday represent the interests of working men and
women, the poor and working poor when they are so insulated from our daily lives that they may hold themselves above accountability at our expense.

I ask you to support my campaign for Ohio Senate District 20 as one to bring about new leadership that will stand up to the challenges we face. As a committed peace activist I will immediately begin efforts to
recall the Ohio National Guard. As a small businessman and concerned family member I will continue to seek the passage of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act. As someone who has been in business for twenty-two years in the environmental field but more importantly as someone who cherishes our public ownership of our pristine lands, who has experienced the elevation of quality of life through my family’s
personal use I am committed to protecting and preserving that which is under OUR stewardship for future generations, our public lands, forests and waterways. If we are to retain those qualities, tools and strengths
that have built our state, built our country, then we must resist the politics of fear and never capitulate or comprise our civil rights.

 

           HEALTHCARE

 Ohio Economy Needs Small Business and Small Business Needs Single-Payer

      Small business and the self-employed are driving Ohio’s growing service economy to everyone’s advantage, providing jobs for their communities, paying wages to their neighbors, and creating income and tax revenues that stay in the local area. Our economy needs these small businesses to help generate the recovery from the continued disastrous loss of our manufacturing base. The single largest obstacle to the success of small business operators is the prohibitive cost of providing health care coverage for themselves and their employees, and the inability to gauge future costs. Competitive wages, safe and reasonable working conditions and health care coverage are central to mutually beneficial relationships between employers and employees. These relationships were typical of collective bargaining between unions and companies, and are once again possible on a broader scale thanks to the Health Care for All Ohioans Act.  

     At the root of successful employer/employee cooperation is the elimination of adversarial conditions that pit workers against owners, as is the situation with rising, unaffordable health care costs, currently the main point of contention in every bargaining situation. For the self-employed, who are providing health care coverage for themselves and their families without the benefit of real collectives, The Health Care for All Ohioans Act provides immediate relief by creating access to comprehensive, affordable healthcare with a fixed, fair, progressive gross receipts tax. For businesses that primarily generate their receipts through service labor provided, the savings are dramatic. For many the resulting savings can then be reinvested in the business, increasing revenue and creating jobs with no increase in costs over that of privately provided for-profit coverage. For small businesses with payrolls, in addition to the gross receipts tax, the funding formula of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act provides for an affordable, fixed, progressive employer-paid payroll tax that increases only as payrolls increase. Successful businessmen and women know that increased revenues and increased payrolls can result in increased profits.

     We have dug the healthcare hole very deep, the solution will be expensive and no one wants cheap healthcare anyway, only accessible, affordable healthcare coverage. It is time for bold, innovative steps to solve this problem that will affect every one of us eventually.  For the first time businesses will have the opportunity to determine their future healthcare costs due to the fixed rates of the funding formula. Ask a business person if they would support a plan that would allow them to project their healthcare costs for the next five years, even taking into account possible increased initial cost.  The answer you will get is a resounding, YES!  Businesses prefer steady financial forecasts, workers prefer job security and job creation over day to day employment, and all parties prefer a mutually beneficial, respectful relationship. Predictable healthcare costs encourage business to grow, workers to thrive and collective bargaining to be successful. The Health Care for All Ohioans Act is a winner for us all.

The Truth is in the Table

Purchasing family coverage as a self-employed businessman from a private for-profit insurer is $$$$$$.

The costs listed here, monthly premium and out of pocket expenses, are for my family’s personal health care, two adults, one child. Imagine the savings for a family of five or six, or aging adults, all variables that are not a cost factor under the HCFAOA.

  Reflecting Ohio’s economy, gross receipts for 2006 are down; however health care costs are up due to an increase in required services and monthly premium. Under the HCFAOA, costs remain at a fixed maximum of 3% and drop as income drops, a fair, progressive funding formula.  The Ohio Legislature can set the gross receipts tax at UNDER the 3% maximum yielding even greater savings.

Now Let’s Reinvest These Savings

Healthcare coverage under the Healthcare for All Ohioans Act at the maximum payroll tax ceiling of 3.85%  will cost: (once again, the Ohio Legislature can set the payroll tax UNDER the 3.85% ceiling)

 

For a full-time employee earning $16 per hour….  $1,281 yearly     (Note: These wages, when offered with full

                                                      $20 per hour….  $1,602 yearly    healthcare benefits are good jobs, especially

                                                      $25 per hour …..$2002  yearly       in  economically depressed, rural areas)

As you can see, the reduction in healthcare costs to self-employed persons under the gross receipts tax formula of the HCFAOA can fully fund healthcare for newly created jobs, all direct benefits of The Health Care for All Ohioans Act.

The Formula to Remember

Healthcare Savings=Job Creation=Increased Revenues=Increased Wages=Increased Production=Increased Profits=increased tax revenues.  Add Them All Together = Increased Wellness….Health Care for All Ohioans!

 

 

CORPORATE REFORM

CANDIDATE SURVEY ON DEMOCRACY AND CORPORATE RIGHTS
by the Ohio Committee on Corporations, Law & Democracy
www.ohiodemocracy.org

1. Do you believe that corporations should be allowed directly or through corporate-sponsored Political Action Committee (PACs) to donate to or invest money in political candidates or issue campaigns? (Note: at one time in Ohio, they couldn't.) If not, what do you specifically plan to do about this if elected?

>No. It is my perspective that it is far past time to reign in corporate influence on our elections system. I am a supporter of publicly financed elections when funds are distributed equitably to all federal and statewide candidates meeting a reasonable threshold for qualification. Public financing of campaigns contributes directly to an inclusive, representative and transparent system. As an elected official the spirit of public service requires engaging and empowering participation of the voting public and any qualified Ohio citizen desiring to participate in the process. Eliminating corporate financing/influence serves that mission. True campaign finance reform must be comprehensive, substantive and fair, not a thinly veiled sham as contained in the reform of 2004. Provisions contained in the bill and supported by both Republicans and Democrats allow a seven year old child to donate up to $20,000 in an election cycle.

2. Do you believe that public officials should have the right to examine the financial books of corporations (i.e. to prevent future Enrons and/or to access the true profits of oil companies)? (Note: at one time in Ohio, they could.) If so, what do you specifically plan to do about this if elected?

>Yes.  Ohio law provides for certain guarantees for corporations legally conducting business in Ohio. Ownership of trademarks, patents, corporate names and specific identities, intellectual property and the right to earn a profit are protected through a charter granted by the Secretary of State's office. Ohio citizens have a right to reasonable expectations of some level of quid pro quo for these protections, and specifically, that those corporations operate in the best interests of the public. The ability of the public to challenge corporate abuse has been weakened over time and I would be interested in exploring new and available avenues on behalf of Ohio's citizens to reclaim a level playing field.

3. Do you believe that corporations should have the right to move toxic trash into communities from another state if people in those communities don't want it? If not, what do you specifically plan to do about this if elected?

> No. The growing trend to grant rights to corporations that trump those historically reserved for people are particularly apparent in international trade law, and law governing interstate commerce. Corporations should be held accountable for certain egregious acts both legal and illegal, and citizens must have the fair opportunity to legally pre-empt the possibility of such occurrences and must be codified into the Ohio Revised Code. I will oppose both current and future trade law that allows the interests of out-of-state corporations to overrule the needs of Ohio’s citizens.

4. Do you believe that people should have greater legal and constitutional rights than business corporations? (Note: at one time in Ohio, they did). If so, what do you specifically plan to do about this if elected?

> Yes. The foundation of corporate power is found in campaign finance law that gives an overwhelmingly unfair advantage to corporations with deep pockets. Although campaign contributions by individuals may be viewed as protected free-speech, it is my view that prohibited corporate contributions continue to be made, obfuscated and disguised by weak campaign finance law. Real campaign finance reform and publicly funded campaigns will remove the deep cover that allows corporations to work behind the scenes, avoiding the law and expanding corporate power.

 

 

Paid for by Kettler for Senate - 29674 Township Road 30 - Warsaw, Ohio - 43844 - Roberta Kettler - Treasurer