Two Paths, by John Kasich: on Government Reform
John Kasich:
Post-truth environment makes us intolerant of other opinions
Many Americans get their news from [sources that reinforce their opinions]. When we silo ourselves, when we surround ourselves only with affirming views and selective reporting and analysis, we became more and more convinced that our way is the only way.
We become intolerant of other people's opinions or alternative approaches, In a post-truth environment, where utter falsehoods have become the order of the day, we give no quarter to any politician who doesn't line up with us on each and every issue.
Source: Two Paths, by John Kasich, p. 166
Apr 25, 2017
John Kasich:
1979: refused $5,000 raise as State Senator
My own party voted itself a token pay raise and I refused to accept it, at a time in my life when I really could have used the money. A $17,500 state senator's salary didn't stretch very far, even in 1979, and a bump to $22,500 would have made a world
of difference to me, but I sent the money back. (I still had to pay taxes on that extra $5,000). Still I didn't think it was right for the legislature to vote for a pay raise. It was self-serving. Sure, we were underpaid, but a lot of people in
Ohio were hurting. More to the point, many of my colleagues had campaigned on a promise not to raise taxes, so I couldn't even endorse it. Voting against it wasn't enough in my opinion.This got a lot of attention, my returning the money the way
I did. It set me up as a kind of maverick who wasn't afraid to go against his own party, but that wasn't why I did it. No, I did it in principle, because it felt like the right thing to do.
Source: Two Paths, by John Kasich, p. 73
Apr 25, 2017
Page last updated: Apr 03, 2019