The pangs of Ohio history

WHEN JACK Gilligan ran for governor in 1970, he didn't mind reminding Ohio voters that if he were elected he'd be the prime mover in his support of a state income tax. Gilligan, a progressive Democrat, was elected anyway and Ohioans have been paying an income tax ever since.

In 1972, conservatives who couldn't bear the thought of any kind of tax sent the tax back to the ballot to repeal it. . They were in for a surprise. The voters handily retained the tax. Gilligan's risky initiative to pay the bills was the last great show of political courage at the Statehouse - and probably the last. Bring back Jim Rhodes, Gilligan's successor, who promised nothing but jobs/jobs/jobs and no new taxes. It soon became obvious that No Tax Rhodes, without ever flat out saying so, had no interest in getting rid of "Gilligan's income tax." It was an important course in his meal ticket to avoid raising taxes, no matter the need.

Nothing has changed. Much of the talk down in Columbus, a town just south of the Delaware County line, is to either lower or eliminate taxes. The argument is that this modern approach to the state's bulging deficit will make Ohio whole again while outsourcing the concerns of the middle class and poor to some yet-to-be-defined Shangri-la many years hence. (How do you end an estate tax for the tens of thousands who have lost their foreclosed homes? )

Jack Gilligan did what he had to do. You don't find that kind of budgetary heroism in Columbus today. The alternative is so much more convenient for the craven politicians who are proving what we might have expected from the so-called Caveman Caucus that has seized power in the General Assembly. They don't have a clue.

MORE OHIO HISTORY: For too many decades, Republican leaders at state and local levels have personally assured us that their party is serious about expanding its base. And now comes Republican Gov. John Kasich with an all-white supporting cast of senior officers. He explained that he merely wanted to get the best person for each job. OK. We'll give the GOP chiefs another 25 years or so, and if they still don't find the "best" person among minorities, we'll know they are making things up.

John Kasich: After...and before

THERE'S AN unwritten rule in politics that the public tends to remember what the pol says first - no matter what he or she says later. It's a noose that has been slipped around John Kasich's neck, no matter how he tends to soften his original statement as the Republican gubernatorial candidate. I refer to his bombastic promise that he would eliminate the state income tax - even now that he and his allies are hurriedly saying that he didn't mean to do it by the next day's sunrise. Indeed, I'm not sure when he intends to eliminate the tax if he wins. Campaign promises often arrive in a haze.

The Columbus Dispatch reported today that opposition to Kasich's idea is quickly rising among school officials who fear that the absence of an income tax would further cripple their efforts to make ends meet. They have reason to worry. According to the Legislative Service Commission, seized as a convenient authoritative source by Democrats, the schools would lose $200 million in 2011 alone and God-knows how much over a 10-year period.

Not that Kasich doesn't have his supporters. For example, there is freshman Rep. Seth Morgan, the young (31) GOP candidate for state auditor, who accused the D's of turning the tax proposal into a heartstring issue and "using children as political pawns."

Something about Morgan, now that he has chosen to enter the fray from the political far right with Tea Party blessings. He represents the Dayton suburb of Huber Heights, and has posted his qualifications on his campaign home page: He says he would use his "passion for public policy, philosophy for a responsible government and love for Ohio" to make a difference. Here we go again: He has earned his spurs by once managing a Christian bookstore and attended Liberty Academy Satellite Schools. He got an online undergraduate degree but did manage to get an MBA summa cum laude from Dayton University. Forgive me: I recite all of this now because his name will be popping up regularly during the campaign season.

As for the income tax, the Dispatch reported today: "Ohio's income tax brings in a little more than $7 billion to Ohio's general revenue fund, about 44 pct. of all tax revenue. Kasich has said he favors its elimination but he has not set a timetable."

The election is many months away, but don't bet that the fuss over the state income tax - Kasich's original version - will go away. With political rhetoric, it is usually first things first.