Buckeye RINO

Last November, there was an Issue 1.  It was a bond issue.  Bond issues put the state in debt.  Bond repayment with interest eats up too much of the state’s general fund.  How bond money is spent is hidden behind a curtain–it’s not as visible as line items in the biennial budget bills.  Bond money is a clandestine method of political patronage and pay-to-play politics.

Please note that politicians on both sides of the aisle are for this May’s Issue 1, a “Third Frontier” project ostensibly to jumpstart innovative high-tech industry entrepreneurial endeavors.  The high-tech research may take place at our universities, and start-ups in these research park incubators may be given tax breaks, but once these enterprises are commercially viable, they inevitably must leave our state because of the poor business climate.  The Third Frontier, it should be noted, is part of the legacy of Bob Taft.

I opposed last year’s Issue 1, and wrote a lengthier explanation how I felt about bond issues in general, so refer to that if you want more detail.  I am likewise opposed to the Issue 1 being presented in this primary election.

This year’s Issue 1 also is one of those unholy public-private partnerships, like the quasi-governmental Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at the federal level, wherein the money making feature of a business . . ., you know, what makes a business sustainable . . ., is compromised by also being expected to achieve political ends.

Issue 1 is a marketplace intervention by government that adds to the distortion of free markets.  The government picks the winners and losers in the marketplace by deciding where Third Frontier venture capital will go.

Issue 1 is a redistribution of wealth.  Though advertised as not being a confiscation of your money by way of a tax hike, it incurs indebtedness that must be paid back with interest using tax revenues.  This Third Frontier money is thus shifted away from you and granted to some other entities.

For these reasons, and more, please vote “No” on May’s Third Frontier bond renewal, Issue 1.