John Kasich in 2015 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Corporations:
No income taxes on small businesses up to $2M
Low taxes signal to job creators that Ohio is a safe & attractive place to invest. Take the small business owner, for example. The small business that has more money can hire more people. This is not a Republican philosophy. This is just a simple fact.
High taxes discourage it. High taxes, especially the income tax, punish a small business owner's willingness to take the risk to hire more people, to invest in improvements, and work harder to be successful. Lower taxes incentivize all of those things.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
On Drugs:
50% lower chance of drug use if kids hear "don't do drugs"
"Start Talking": Do you know about this? We've got a lot of new members here. If a young person hears "do not do drugs," there is a 50 percent less chance they will ever do it. A 50 percent less chance. Now, in your districts, you can spread it.
We've spoken now, I think--well, I know the last time I checked--to over 26,000 kids. We've gotten teachers involved. And, ladies and gentlemen that are here in Wilmington, I don't care where you are. You're in a restaurant?
You walk over there and you see those kids. You tell them to stay off the drugs. [Look at] the tsunami of trouble we have in this community because of addiction. We need to be in our schools.
We need to be in our communities. We need to be in our synagogues. We need to be in our churches. We need to be everywhere. Don't leave it to somebody else.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
On Education:
$120 million student debt relief fund; plus online college
They're going along with this idea of two-year schools being able to award a bachelor degree. Unbelievable. And they're going to adopt new online competency-based courses. In other words, if you're a nurse and you're 32 and you want to get a bigger
certificate, you're going to be able to go online and get that done. And you'll be able to take those courses and get that degree. You won't even have to sit in a classroom if you've got it all together. With lower costs, and a freeze on tuition, more
students can afford college, hopefully finish without the huge debts. And we have $120 million in this student debt relief fund. Honestly, I think it's like a thimble in the ocean. We know how tough it is. We know you have a lot of debt.
We want to do something to help you. It could be related to the fact that if you take an in-demand job and you stay in Ohio for five years, we'll give you the help you want. We think it's absolutely critical.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
On Energy & Oil:
Raise severance tax on oil & gas from 20 cents upward
Severance taxes, that's another place where we need tax reform. The reason is simple. Our current system doesn't reflect our current reality. Ohio's severance tax was created decades ago, long before Ohio's shale boom was ever envisioned.
Its current low rate: 20 cents on a barrel of oil. It's unconscionable as far as I'm concerned. It's not right. It isn't fair to Ohioans, because these resources are being depleted. They're never coming back.
Ohio's being made poorer as a result of the depletion of our resources. I'm disappointed by those who say the severance tax reform will kill the industry. That's a joke. That's a big fat joke because I've talked to them in private. And I'll tell you
what, our severance tax will still be competitive with our energy-rich states. And you know what? Let's reform the severance tax so all Ohioans can have lower income taxes and we all benefit from this whole industry. That's what it should be all about.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
On Tax Reform:
$3 billion in tax cuts for job creators
We've gone from very high taxes across the board to the largest tax cuts in America, including tax cuts for the working poor, which is a very important part of our philosophy. We're seeing wages grow faster than the national average, and the unemployment
rate has dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade.[My budget represents] the ideas that are producing the economic growth which is making so many of the other good things possible. These accomplishments are sending a message to job creators
around the state, around the country, and around the globe that Ohio is open for business. When I tell them that we were $8 billion in the hole and now we're $2 billion in the black, that we've got $3 billion worth of tax cuts, that we've got a private
sector entity that can respond to them quickly--it's hard for them to believe. But we've been able to keep growth in check so that there's money to give back to Ohioans in the form of a $500 million tax cut because we have restrained ourselves.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
On Technology:
Replace "Rust Belt" with Cloud computing and 3-D printing
[We need] to diversify Ohio's economy and achieve a crossover of sorts where we can maintain a vibrant manufacturing climate. We want to continue to do the steel. We want to do the cars. We want to do all those things. We maintain a vibrant manufacturing
company, but we inspire a fire for cutting edge companies and technologies that have the greatest potential for job growth.The biggest businesses in America have less employees. Look at the ones that are really skyrocketing in this country.
Cloud computing, 3-D printing. 3-D printing, have you ever seen it? It's amazing what it means and what it can mean. Telemedicine and the medical devices that make it possible, logistics, financial services, IT services. These are the cutting-edge
industries we must have in Ohio. They just can't be somewhere else.
And we can't continue to be known as the rust belt. No one likes rust. We need the new industries. We need the new economy in this state.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
On Welfare & Poverty:
People who played by the rules suffered; act decisively now
I came here to Wilmington during my campaign in 2010 and I saw the devastation that this town had suffered. It was written on the faces of the people of Wilmington, and these are people who had played by the rules. They didn't do anything wrong.
They worked hard, but one day the rug was pulled from under them. People lost their savings. People lost their homes. A lot of people were losing hope in what their future was going to be. The people at food pantries like Sugartree Ministries--
we were here with my campaign staff, and I said, "Did you see what was happening in that pantry? Did you see the pain, the anguish, on their faces?"
I told them that day, "Our mission is to help fix this community and to restore some hope.
Our mission is to help get people back on their feet in places like Wilmington." Wilmington is in many ways a reflection of Ohio. We are doing better, but we must act decisively now to seize the greater opportunities that await all of us.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018