COTC - What's In The Box?

The Groundhog Day Storm of 2011

I was told by a fellow Groundhog Committee member Friday night that a big storm is supposed to hit this week and they have named it the Groundhog Day Storm.

Why would I care? Because our 55th Annual Groundhog Breakfast is now five days away - February 4th. We are expecting 650 people - at 6:00 a.m.

I can remember past GH Breakfasts where the roads were bad and the temperatures were well below freezing, but the GH Breakfast still went on as planned.

2011 will be no different.

We have a wonderful morning planned for everyone, so just get up a little earlier than planned, and make your way over to Adena Hall on the OSU Newark Campus this Friday. You will be glad you did!

Thank You Time Warner Business Class!

Don't you love getting an unexpected gift?

This was delivered today from Time Warner Business Class, giving us recognition for being

named #4 in The List in Business First. Too cool!

What Doesn't Belong?

I grew up watching Sesame Street. I can remember a segment of the show that had a little song about "what three things are the same and which one doesn't belong. . ." - Here is what prompted the flashback to this song as I walked around the office this morning:

Yes, my desk "just doesn't belong" among the clean desks in this office.

It's Almost That Time. . .

Patrick Guanciale's blog today has a sneak peak at our Groundhog.

You just never know where he will appear next.

Congrats Vicky!

Vicky Crist in our office was presented with a gift today from the Human Resources Management Association. They wanted to thank her for all her hard work and dedication to the HRMA and said she deserves much of the credit of the success of the group.

Congrats Vicky!

Economic Impact

I recently attended a meeting of workenomics and heard a startling statistic. In 2010, Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services pumped $231 million into the economy of Licking County.

$231 million.

Around $140 million went to food stamps and programs for the aged, blind and disabled. The remaining amount went to medicaid.

1 out of every 6 people in Licking County were "touched" by ODJFS.

There are certainly different ways of looking at this. On the surface, it would seem a bit disappointing that so many people needed help in our community. But given the economy, that's probably not too surprising.

From a more positive view, the increase usage of those programs did increase employment for those in nursing homes and grocery stores.

No matter what viewpoint you may have on this, $231 million had a strong impact on Licking County in 2010.

Campaign For Jobs

A message from the Ohio Chamber:


Following a seismic election last fall in which voters told their elected officials “we need jobs and we need them now” the Ohio Chamber today launched the Campaign for Jobs. Built on a ten plank platform of reforming state and local government, reducing business costs, transforming our state and local tax climate and improving our infrastructure – among others – the Campaign will be aggressive and innovative.

Thanks to all of your hard work on so many legislative issues in the past, we can build on what we’ve created and take on this bold initiative. As the linchpin to our current advocacy efforts, you will play an important role in the success of the Campaign for Jobs. Policy makers have a real opportunity – starting now – to Make Ohio Great Again and your feedback will help make it possible.

Just like a traditional campaign, the Campaign for Jobs has a significant grassroots component and a Web site to support it; www.campaignforjobs.com. There you will find information about the campaign, the agenda the Ohio Chamber will be pursuing and opportunities to get involved.

Thank you again for what we’ve accomplished together. Now I urge you to join the Campaign for Jobs and help Make Ohio Great Again!

Prevent Crime Against Women

A message from Annarino Martial Arts:

Spoilers Beware

. . .you will not be ruining my day today.

Thanks to Nicholas.

If you are seeking transformation in 2011, there is no better place to go than to his place.

The Elimination of Ohio's Estate Tax

Hot off the presses:


House GOP Introduces Bill to Eliminate Ohio’s Estate Tax

COLUMBUS—Assistant House Majority Whip Cheryl Grossman (R-Grove City) and State Representative Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) today jointly introduced legislation to eliminate the Ohio estate tax, also known as the “death tax.” House Bill 3 will allow small business owners, farmers and homeowners to rightfully pass on their assets to their heirs without fear of being taxed twice on their life’s savings, which will make Ohio more competitive for entrepreneurial growth and investment.

“House Bill 3 is just one of the many ways we will be working to aggressively improve the way the state of Ohio does business,” said Rep. Grossman. “When you hear of the 400,000 jobs that have left the state of Ohio, 90 percent of those have gone to other states—not overseas. We need to be more business-friendly, and I think that this legislation is a huge step in the right direction for the people of Ohio and for the generations to follow.”

“We are beginning the process of ending a fundamentally unfair and egregious tax, a tax that is often the case of double taxation,” said Rep. Hottinger. “This bill is about restoring fairness to Ohio’s hardworking citizens, our families, small business owners, as well as our state’s farmers. Ending this tax will have a tremendous effect on job creation in the state of Ohio.”

Ohio currently has the lowest estate tax exemption in the United States. Only $338,333 of the taxable estate is exempt from the estate tax, compared to an average exemption amount of approximately $1.7 million for other states that have an estate tax. For this reason, supporters of the elimination of the estate tax believe that it takes direct aim at Ohio’s middle class, undermines job creation, and discourages saving and investing in the state.

“The estate tax represents essentially a 7 percent incentive for capital to not come to Ohio or to leave Ohio,” said Jack Boyle, executive director of the Ohio Prosperity Initiative. “[House Bill 3] is the beginning of Ohio making its step back to competitiveness. We’ve had a 30-year slide of our state’s economic fortunes, and this is the day that we start changing that.”

“The Ohio Farm Bureau has long stood as an opponent of the estate tax,” said Beth Vanderkooi, director of state policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. “We’re very excited that Representatives Grossman and Hottinger are going to try to [enact this bill] in Ohio this year, and we’re strongly behind that.”

House Bill 3 was assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee, where it will undergo further consideration.

Thank you Representatives Grossman and Hottinger.

Health Care Repeal Underway

Today I participated in a conference call with the US Chamber regarding the initiative to repeal the Health Care Bill previous passed.

Next Wednesday, January 12th, HB 2 -a Bill to repeal the Health Care Reform Bill, will be voted on in the House of Representatives. This vote is an up or down vote, no amendments allowed.

Due to the large number of freshman congressmen who campaigned on repealing the Health Care Bill, support for this bill is strong. And interestingly enough, it is only two pages long.

HR 144 will also be voted on next week. This is a Resolution to repeal the 1099 reporting requirements which were snuck into the Health Care Reform Bill. There are 108 co-sponsors of this Bill and it also has strong support.

I am pleased to report that Congressman Pat Tiberi (12th District) not only supports HB 2 and HR 144, but is a co-sponsor of both.

I haven't heard back from Congressman Bob Gibb's (18th District) office yet, but will update this blog when I do.