Ohio’s ‘corrupt’ system
On the topic of “Ohio can abolish property taxes, Ramaswamy can help us do it,” On March 9, I was intrigued by Republican State Rep. Ron Ferguson’s perspective on what Ohio’s state government requires.
Ferguson describes Ohio’s government as a “corrupt system” with a “deep state” and a “political class” that conservative “freedom fighters” have “battled … to a standstill.”
Hmmm. The Republican Party has controlled Ohio’s “corrupt system” and the government departments that comprise this alleged “deep state” for decades.
The GOP has controlled the Ohio House since 1995 (with the exception of 2009-2011) and the Ohio Senate since — are you ready? — 1985. Since 2011, Republicans have run for every statewide elected office.
Ferguson recommends Vivek Ramaswamy, a near-billionaire, as Ohio’s next governor because he has “a bold vision to eliminate the property tax.”
Okay, but property taxes are the primary source of funding for schools.
Between 1997 and 2002, Ohio’s Supreme Court ruled four times that funding schools through property taxes was unconstitutional. For more than 20 years, our Republican-controlled legislature has failed to address this admittedly complex issue.
Rep. Ferguson is serving his third term in the Ohio House. Four years seems like enough time to have started working on addressing the Court’s rulings.
Rather than waiting for an Elon Musk acolyte like Vivek Ramaswamy to address the issue as Ohio governor, Rep. Ferguson could put on his big boy pants, dust off the court’s rulings, and encourage fellow Republicans to roll up their sleeves and obey the law.
