Alternative Fuel E-85:
If you have not heard, there is an alternative fuel that comes from corn. Most of us are aware that we currently use ethanol in our gas, but it is a low percentage. The new alternative fuel has 85% ethanol in it and SHOULD be considerably cheaper. Currently, GM and Ford are the ones that will be making the new Flex-Fuel-Vehicles that are the only vehicles that will be able to use E-85. The idea of promoting and using this gas would be beneficial in different ways. First, since the corn is abundant in the US, we would not need to rely so much on foreign oil. Secondly, since GM and Ford are the only ones building the FFV’s, it would promote buying American, which in turn will secure and create more jobs. E-85 is also safer for the environment burning off cleaner than traditional gas. I believe that we should support the making and use of E-85 because it will benefit not only Ohio but also America as a whole.
Raising minimum wage for Ohio AKA: The good, the bad, and the ugly!
The House and the Senate of Ohio passed a bill to raise the minimum wage to meet the current federal standards of $5.15 per hour. This is the first state increase in 15 years. The old minimum wage for Ohio was $4.25 per hour. There are about 100,000 Ohioans, mostly employed by small businesses that are currently exempt from the federal minimum wage. So, raising the state minimum wage .90 cents is good. However, the bad is what Ohioans are going to miss out on. This bill is designed to undermine an increase in minimum wage to $6.85 that voters will have a chance to vote on the November 7th ballot. That was the bad. The ugly is that in the same bill passed 58-37 by the House and 21-11 in the Senate was a provision to cut Ohio Workers Compensation. Currently workers compensation is set up to pay someone 2/3 of his or her income for up to 200 weeks until they find employment. However, the new provision would cut this down to 52 weeks. A plus, is the bill would increase the number of weeks that an injured worker who accepts a lower-paying job may collect 2/3 of the difference between his new and old paychecks. The estimated savings for the bureau would be 100 million dollars per year. I guess now would be a good time to mention the convenient timing of this bill for the bureau. It is estimated that the bureau has lost $228 million dollars in a risky offshore hedge fund that was coupled with a failed rare coin investment. Can anyone else smell what’s cooking? All this information and more can be found from an article in the Toledo Blade. Keep up the good work!
I believe that raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do and it should have been done when the Federal minimum wage was raised. Yes, there are many economic factors that go into raising the minimum wage such as inflation, nominal value of the dollar, and the attractiveness of Ohio to businesses. However, we cannot sell out our own people. Businesses should not come to Ohio because we are more relaxed in our air pollution regulations, give out more tax abatements, or even because they can pay their employees less. These are not the right motivations to get businesses in Ohio. Some people argue that what is better for the businesses now, will be better for employees down the road. Well, all I have to say is the time to help the people is now. When Ohio is the number one state for house foreclosures in the nation, one might say that people do not have time to wait.
