Ted Strickland: Thinking Small

The ORP has put out a fantastic video knocking the snot out of Ohio Governor Strickland on the #1 issue on the minds of voters: jobs.



In the video, Ted says "Third Frontier is, in my judgement, the most effective economic development job creation tool that we have available to our state."

It's important to note before we continue that Third Frontier's own supporters say the program has created just 10,000 jobs in the past five years. That's 2,000 per year. They also claim 38k "indirect" jobs.

Now before you forget, Ohio is closing in on 400,000 jobs lost in Strickland's four years. But somehow Third Frontier's 2,000 new jobs a year is the best Ohio's got, Governor? Seriously?

First off, what happened to the $8 billion Ohio received in federal stimulus taxpayer dollars? This cash didn't just come off some unicorn-created free money tree. It's every taxpayer's hard-earned dollars. And yet, Third Frontier, with all of its 2,000 jobs/year, is the best program we have going for us? If that's true, can we have our $8 billion back?

Second, Third Frontier isn't the most effective tool available. It's just one of the only ones you're using. I imagine there are a lot of small businesses out there that would create a lot more jobs if their tax burden was lowered. How about using that tool? I'm pretty sure it's available.

Finally, as you so cheerfully share, Third Frontier wasn't even your idea! It was the brainchild of your favorite role-model, Governor Taft. And here you are, trying to co-opt it.

Clearly, Ted Strickland has failed during his four years as Governor and still, after all this time, has zero ideas about how to bring substantive job growth to Ohio.

Now to be fair, many Republicans, including John Kasich, have thrown their support behind Third Frontier, though with more strict requirements than what Strickland calls for. And while the program clearly has created jobs, it's impossible to tell how many jobs it may have destroyed by not allowing the free market to make its own decisions. But what's important is that these same Republicans that do support the program aren't resting on the laurels of Third Frontier, as Strickland has done. Third Frontier may be misguided, but at least the GOPers that do support the program look at it simply as a small part of implementing a much greater movement that relies on the simple and effective tenets of free market supply and demand.

Meanwhile, Ted Strickland is stuck kicking the can down the road without one idea of his own.

647,000 unemployed Ohioans are waiting, Governor.