The Ohio Economy

It is so depressing to listen to the elite media and the Democrats constantly vilify the business and jobs climate in Ohio. It's described as an abysmal pit of poverty and desperation, a picture of pitch blackness. John Kerry and his campaign operatives, which includes the major media in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Akron, and other cities, constantly rail at the Republicans for making Ohio a dismal stinkhole.

It's understandable that John Kerry would preach gloom. He's a politician with an agenda, an agenda to convince everyone that Ohio is a sewer and it's the Republicans' fault. Consequently, if everyone votes for the Democrats, Ohio will no longer be a sewer.

What's not understandable is the elite Ohio media becoming a de facto extension to the Kerry campaign team, echoing the message of misery. One would imagine that at least one major news and opinion outlet would come to the defense of the people and the businesses in Ohio. Unfortunately, that's all one can do, dream about it. It's like a football player on the field being shouted at by his teammates on the bench, "Hey! You suck!" It takes real character to keep one's mind on the game.

In addition to a previous post citing examples of business growth, other simple facts about life in Ohio do not support the absolute black characterizations from the Democrats. First of all, the Department of Labor reports that the Ohio unemployment rate hovers at somewhat less then 6 percent. Almost everybody desires to have this number lower and works towards that end. Nonetheless, John Kerry, the ersatz Frenchman, portrays Ohio unemployment as a disaster, yet the country of France, Kerry's touchstone for political philosophy, has gotten comfortable with unemployment cuddling 10 percent. If Ohio is dismally black at 6 percent unemployment, how would the Democrats portray France at 10 percent?

Another simple fact is that the downturn in the economy in Ohio and nationally has little to do with the Republicans. Several major events put the brakes on business and it's futile to try and place specific blame. The aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 2001 put airlines and airports into financial distress due to increased security measures. The massive sell off of ridiculously overpriced Internet stocks in the dotcom bust caused the markets to tumble and wealth to evaporate. The criminal accounting practices of Enron, Worldcom, and others made pension funds disappear. Plus, let us not forget that the United States is at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Needless to say, each of these events had a rippling effect on the entire economy.

Not insignificant and bound to continue is the impact of global free trade. Many countries, most notably China, have become vigorous competitors in the American marketplace, forcing staid and traditional U.S. companies to rethink their business methodologies. They're losing sales because there are lower-priced equivalents in the market. The changes occurring are similar to what happened in the early 1970s when low-priced cars from Japan took over the American market and Detroit automakers were forced into changing the way they conducted business.

The economy in Ohio and the U.S. has been dramatically affected by all these, and other, events and no one administration can be faulted for causing them. An administration can be asked to do something to help mitigate the negatives in the economy and, in this regard, the Bush administration is doing a notably effective job. The economy is recovering fast, so much so that the Federal Reserve just increased the discount rate to allay inflationary pressures and, although there was a stumble last month, the trend in job creation has been positive and substantial. Any rational assessment of the state of the economy would have to conclude that America should continue doing what it is doing.

On the other hand, the Democrats would like everyone to believe the economy is in the toilet and we need to increase taxes on the rich. They highlight the lack of jobs in Ohio, portraying the state as a wasteland. And the Ohio media surreptitiously heralds the Democratic Party message. Pick up any major newspaper in Ohio to learn how much Ohioans suck. The media make great cheerleaders. Unfortunately, they're on the wrong side.