Monthly Archives: February 2011

School construction projects no longer favor unions

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Mary McCleary

According to the Columbus Dispatch, unions experienced another setback yesterday when the Ohio School Facilities Commission repealed the policy giving organized labor the upper hand in school construction projects.   The new policies will even the playing field and allow the market …

Posted in Government | 1 Comment

Rhode Island School District’s Solution to Budget Woes: Lay Off All Teachers

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Mary McCleary

Providence schools are in a world of hurt. The district is expected to have a $40 million budget deficit in the coming school year. Since Rhode Island law specifies that teachers must be notified by March 1, regarding changes to …

Posted in Education | 4 Comments

Is the Middle Class at Stake?

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Mary McCleary

I’ve seen a lot of signs from protesters saying that Senate Bill 5 kills jobs and harms the middle class.  Even former Governor Strickland expressed these sentiments in an email he sent to his supporters encouraging them to “show up, …

Posted in Public Sector Reform | Leave a comment

The Tide is Turning Against Unions

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Mary McCleary

Unions are slipping in opinion polls.  According to a Clarus Poll which came out last week, 64 percent of voters nationally do not believe government workers should have the right to collectively bargain.  Only 29 percent weighed in on the opposite side.  Several …

Posted in Public Sector Reform | 2 Comments

A Word from Ohio’s Oppressed Professors

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Matt Mayer

In an email to its members, the American Associate of University Professors wrote: “While the exact wording varies from state to state, the intent of the bills is the same; they all seek to deny public employees, including many faculty, the right …

Posted in Education | 4 Comments

Pictures from Statehouse Tea Party Rally

Posted on February 20, 2011 by admin

On Thursday morning, Matt Mayer spoke at a tea party rally at the Statehouse. His remarks focused on collective bargaining for public employees and big fixes that could get Ohio back on track. My favorite picture is the second one …

Posted in Activism | 3 Comments

The Status Quo isn’t Affordable

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Mary McCleary

Visit our audio blog to hear Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer’s interview on Bob Conners this morning.  Mayer talked about the repeal of collective bargaining and his testimony (as an interested party) on Senate Bill 5. Here are some of …

Posted in Public Sector Reform | 2 Comments

Jobless rate shows progress, BUT number of jobs is down

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Mary McCleary

As the Columbus Dispatch reports, the unemployment rate in central Ohio continues to decline.  In December, unemployment in the area dropped to 7.9 percent, which seemingly is a significant improvement over where we stood in September when unemployment was 8.2 …

Posted in Economy | 1 Comment

Union Bosses Love Unions

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Jason Hart

Predictably, government unions are up in arms over Senate Bill 5. In a startling twist, union bosses are arguing that taxing Peter to generously compensate Paul is both fair and economically responsible! “These lower wages and benefits are going to …

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President Barack Obama’s Budget, the Continuing Resolution, and Difficult Choices

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Dan Ziegler

Several weeks ago, President Obama gave us a sneak peak at some of his priorities for the year in his State of the Union speech.  Now yesterday with the release of his budget we get to see numbers attached to …

Posted in Government | 1 Comment