A press release from State Rep. Mandel (R, Lyndhurst) and Jay Goyal (D, Mansfield):

COLUMBUS – State Representatives Josh Mandel (R- Lyndhurst) and Jay Goyal (D- Mansfield) announced today they will soon introduce legislation to offer state income tax credits to Ohio-educated graduates in return for their commitment to stay and work in Ohio.

Oh, my favorite: tax credits. One of the things that stands out for me about the 2004 presidential election was Al Gore’s mantra “targeted tax cuts.” (Second only to “lockbox.”) This season, tax credits are the fashion, and it seems everybody’s doing it.

McCain’s got his health care tax credit, and he’s got a proposed $5000 tax credit for people who buy new electric or hybrid cars.

Obama, clearly the winner in the tax credit contest, is proposing tax credits for having children ($7000), working ($500), child care (50%), tuition, building hybrid vehicles, and more.

There are two things wrong with targeted tax credits. One, the tax system is already ridiculously complicated, and clearly all these new rules will make it even worse, and will open the door to fraud. But more importantly, this is our money. A government which takes too much money from you, and then deigns to give some of it back- if you jump through some of these hoops they’ve set up- is too involved in our decisions.

Frequently the tax credit is sold as making citizens’ financial burdens lighter. This is a cynical ploy in which politicians pretend to care while they’re really trying to get people to toe the line on this or that government policy. How about this policy- let us keep more of our money in the first place, and then you won’t have to bother yourselves coming up with reasons to give some of it back.

Back to the Ohio residency plan, look at what they’re proposing for tax credits over 10 years:

* Associate’s degree: $5,000
* Bachelor’s degree: $20,000
* Master’s degree or higher: $30,000

I don’t have to point out studies which show that college graduates earn more than non-graduates. So this tax credit plan is also likely to be rather regressive- not good.

Here’s a different idea: reduce everyone’s taxes in Ohio. Then more of everyone will want to stay- including businesses. A plan like that might also help out a little problem like 7.2% unemployment.

UPDATE: Practically on cue, Mary Jo “Kilroy calls for targeted tax relief for middle class:”

Kilroy wants a college tuition tax credit worth up to $5,000 annually; increasing the child tax credit to 35 percent to a maximum of $2,100 for families earning up to $200,000; a $1,200 credit for the first $6,000 in elderly care expenses; $1,000 per person credit ($2,000 per family) for health insurance coverage otherwise lost between job, and finally a 401(k) match from the federal government of 25 percent up to $1,000 per year….

Kilroy said her plan could be paid for by repealing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Charming. Raise taxes on everyone, only give it back to those whose votes she wants to buy- I mean target.

Is this the end of Mary Jo Kilroy’s egging on fellow Dems with that charge against Republican Steve Stivers that a 2003 bill he co-sponsored stripped local jurisdictions of control?

Stivers’ Senate office told PolitickerOH.com that townships and counties have not been able to regulate agriculture since the 1950s, as stated in sections 303.21 and 519.21 of the Ohio Revised Code. These statutes forbid counties and townships, respectively, from regulating agriculture. Stivers’ office said before 2000, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was in charge of regulating agriculture but the 2000 legislation transferred regulatory control to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Stivers himself was incorrect in saying that the 2000 legislation actually stripped localities of control.

Verification of that from a neutral source ought to end this. So does Kilroy now have egg on her face? (This is terrible, I know. I could go on, but I’ll have mercy on you.) I thought this issue was awful from the get-go, so I hope it’s dead now. Here’s the previous post, where it turns out I was on to something. (!)

This is rather shocking:

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress, has died after suffering a brain aneurysm, said sources familiar with the situation.

UPDATE: Acknowledging earlier reports that she had died, CNN is saying Tubbs Jones “remains in critical condition.” I hope so. (Via Plunderbund.)

UPDATE 2: The Plain Dealer story linked above is gone. Now,Tubbs Jones in critical condition at Huron Hospital is the story.

UPDATE 3: And now it appears that she has passed away. 10TV News is reporting that:

Tubbs Jones died at 6:12 p.m. after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that burst and left her with limited brain function.

“Throughout the course of the day and into this evening, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones’ medical condition declined,” Sheil said in a statement from the clinic and Tubbs Jones’ family.

Will Hillary Clinton be Obama’s VP pick after all? Ralph Nader says yes. So does Ben Keeler. (How often does that happen?) VP nominee Clinton wouldn’t surprise me at this point. As I wrote in Ben’s comments, her constituency is the one he needs the most and he’s been failing miserably at attracting those folks.

Rasmussen has McCain up by 5 in Ohio. That’s 48-43% and includes leaners. It’s 45-41 among likely voters. Previous polls had it:

PPP, Aug 18, tied 45-45
Quinnipiac, July 31, 46-44, Obama

It’s not smart to compare different polls and find a trend, but this definitely looks like a trend. Anyway, there’s still 76 days before the election- anything can happen. (Via PolitickerOH.)

Regarding the interminable egg controversy surrounding the race for the OH 15th district, the state’s Fiscal Note & Local Impact Statement on the 2003 bill (H.B. 152) says:

The bill also makes other changes regarding regulation. The bill states that an owner or operator of a facility shall not be required by any political subdivision of the state, or any officer, employee, agency, board, commission, department, etc. of a political subdivision to obtain a license, permit, or other approval pertaining to manure, insects or rodents, odor, or siting requirements for installation of an animal feeding facility if the facility has any of the following:

*a permit to install
*a permit to operate
*a review compliance certificate
*a NPDES permit
*an operation and management plan that is approved by the Chief of the Division of Soil and Water Conservation in DNR or by *supervisors of the appropriate soil and water conservation district.

This provision clarifies that CAFO regulation shall fall under the Department of Agriculture.

Hmm, a clarification. (Emphasis added.)

Republican Steve Stivers, says the 2003 bill, which he co-sponsored, did not remove local control- that happened earlier. His opponent, Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, says the bill did limit local control. It might be a little more nuanced than all that.

More domestic drilling- in Ohio? I didn’t know Ohio currently has 63,000 active oil and natural gas wells, according to the story. It’s NPR audio. Canada’s been drinking our milkshake in Lake Erie for 40 years. Despite this, environmentalists still say that keeping the US from drilling there too is more important, and all together now, drilling there won’t have any impact on prices.

“This Little Wingnut Went to the Wrong Coffee Shop” What made it the wrong coffee shop? That reminds of the old ethnic turf battles: Friend, you just went to the wrong sockhop. I keel your broh-ther!

Maybe Nick D will post the car owner’s home phone number- after all, it’s a smear!