Ohio's economic underperformance (Springfield, Green, Clinton: sales, real estate, 2015)

[WRnative]

We kept Republican leadership in the state of Ohio because of their good economic stewardship?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...mies/37490453/

Some day, Ohio will have a politically competent Democratic gubernatorial candidate who will find the vote picking, perhaps shockingly so to many observors, very, very easy.

Despite all of his baggage, I will always wonder how Dennis Kucinich would have fared as Ohio's Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2018. Kucinich certainly would have engaged DeWine in an energetic, populist assault on all fronts and DeWine's attack ads might have bounced off Kucinich just as Clinton's attack ads against Trump bounced off Trump in 2016.

[WRnative]

Ohio's median household income peaked in 2000 and has declined 2.5 percent since then, and much, much more if adjusted for inflation.

https://www.advisorperspectives.com/...te-2017-update

If 2017 Ohio median household income of $59,768 has declined 2.5 percent since 2000, this means that 2000 Ohio median household income was $61,300 in 2000. Adjusted for inflation, $61,300 in 2000 dollars would be $87,046 in 2017 dollars. This means that median household income in Ohio, adjusted for inflation, has fallen over 30 percent in the 21st century.

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

This explains much.

[Natural510]

I'm not sure what any particular politician can do about industrial decline in the state and country as a whole. Manufacturing was the main employer and reason so many migrated to Ohio in the 20th century that it's no surprise its decline has impacted wages. This article highlights Springfield but speaks to the state as well: https://www.npr.org/2016/09/19/49392...conomic-future
Those who can afford to leave largely have, many of the rest were on the lowest rung in warehouses and factory floors in the 1950s-70s and their descendants part of the state's generational poverty now.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by Natural510

I'm not sure what any particular politician can do about industrial decline in the state and country as a whole. Manufacturing was the main employer and reason so many migrated to Ohio in the 20th century that it's no surprise its decline has impacted wages. This article highlights Springfield but speaks to the state as well: https://www.npr.org/2016/09/19/49392...conomic-future
Those who can afford to leave largely have, many of the rest were on the lowest rung in warehouses and factory floors in the 1950s-70s and their descendants part of the state's generational poverty now.

I've repeatedly explained how the U.S. is the only major industrial nation in the world, to my knowledge, that doesn't have a value-added tax, which is largely a universal international feature of global taxation system under the General Agreement on Trade & Tariffs. Ohio and U.S. politicians don't understand this issue, generally because of an IMO pathetically ignorant campaign against the VAT by both Democratic and Republican economists, most importantly Paul Krugman (Democratic) and Martin Feldstein (Republican).

https://www.nber.org/papers/w3163

The above research paper may have precipitated the decline of and doomed American manufacturing more than any action in American history. Note that the premise is that currency valuations would adjust to eliminate the economic advantage of foreign manufacturers or service businesses (if VATs are a factor in service transactions). In reality, foreigners have used their manufacturing profits to buy U.S. assets, whether bonds, real estate, equities and even entire corporations, with devastating results. The Chinese, and likely the Japanese, actually and likely consciously have used their profits on exports to the U.S. to purchase trillions of dollars of U.S. debt securities, thereby maintaining their economic advantage.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...llion-in-april

Republican economist Larry Lindsey has been about the only clear-headed thinker about the VAT, but he unfortunately supports a regressive policy solution in which a VAT would replace the progressive income tax (a better solution would be to use VAT revenues to increase child care incentives, medical insurance for the poor and middle class, and education credits that could be used to retire student debt, as well as exempt the majority of Americans from the federal income tax). Existing state sales taxes could be converted to piggyback VATS, as is done in Canada and Germany, reducing administrative costs and creating further leveling the tax field for American manufacturers.

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politi...n-once-shunned

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/1...fat-on-the-vat

http://www.thelindseygroup.com/wp-co...-WSJ091604.pdf

Now that foreign nations dominate key manufacturing technologies, and U.S. manufacturing capital, including human skills capital has been obliterated, these foreign nations, especially China, no longer have much reason to maintain their holdings of U.S. debt securities. The liquidation of foreign holdings of U.S. debt, especially with the dollar index at a recent high, may precipitate a collapse of the dollar in the next few years, according to many experts, including especially the preeminent Jeffrey Gundlach and Ray Dalio.

Many American multinationals have capitalized on the economic advantages offered by foreign nations' participation in the global value-added tax regime to move manufacturing assets and technologies offshore. Their technologies often have been stolen, especially in China, and certainly human manufacturing skills have been lost from America to foreign nations.

Sadly, as with global climate change, I see very inadequate understanding let alone policy actions to deal with this among the current batch of U.S. leaders, whether political or media.

[Natural510]

Interesting...I would think the lack of nationalized health care would be a major detriment too. Multinationals don’t have to worry about paying for their enployees’ health coverage in Canada, Germany, Australia etc like they do here.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by Natural510

Interesting...I would think the lack of nationalized health care would be a major detriment too. Multinationals don’t have to worry about paying for their enployees’ health coverage in Canada, Germany, Australia etc like they do here.

The reality that U.S. medical costs are much higher than in other OECD let alone developing countries is a major competitiveness issue. The negative impact of these higher costs is magnified by the VAT effect as explained in the last part of post 104.

https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0...alth-care-oecd

Note that Japan has very reasonable healthcare costs per capita and Japan, unlike many OECD countries, does not have a single payer healthcare system, although it does have universal healthcare.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.W_GezPZFzIU

The U.S. also places too little emphasis on diet, exercise, healthy habits, etc. It's a tragedy that school children aren't required to have significant daily exercise (not just unsupervised, stand-around recesses) and taught to make and eat healthily. Our unhealthy lifestyles contribute greatly to our excessive healthcare costs.

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/fu...haff.2016.1234

Because the U.S. does not restrict drug prices, unlike other OECD nations and even developing countries, U.S. pays much higher drug prices. We also have insurance middle men who take a share of all medical expenses. Finally, our litigious society encourage medical practitioners to order expensive medical tests to a much greater extent than in competing economies.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ore-for-drugs/

Apart from defense goods and related industries that benefit from government spending on defense goods, I sometimes wonder what is still made in the U.S., apart from processed foods. E.g., I noticed that bags for a leading brand of vacuum sealing machines were made in South Korea!

[Ringo1]

Originally Posted by WRnative

We kept Republican leadership in the state of Ohio because of their good economic stewardship?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...mies/37490453/

Some day, Ohio will have a politically competent Democratic gubernatorial candidate who will find the vote picking, perhaps shockingly so to many observors, very, very easy.

Despite all of his baggage, I will always wonder how Dennis Kucinich would have fared as Ohio's Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2018. Kucinich certainly would have engaged DeWine in an energetic, populist assault on all fronts and DeWine's attack ads might have bounced off Kucinich just as Clinton's attack ads against Trump bounced off Trump in 2016.

Ohio is quickly becoming the new WV. What with wasting time passing ridiculous and draconian laws - no businesses OR young people are going to be eager to come here. I predict a further decline if current leadership continues.

[HueysBack]

Originally Posted by Ringo1

Ohio is quickly becoming the new WV. What with wasting time passing ridiculous and draconian laws - no businesses OR young people are going to be eager to come here. I predict a further decline if current leadership continues.

That's what happens when fear sets in... you become regressive. #MAGA amiright?

Ohio could have been the first state in the Midwest to legalize marijuana 4 years ago, which would have brought in over $1 billion in tax revenue by now, lowered state expenditures by nearly $100M and birthed around 40,000 new jobs in that industry alone. Could have ran on a "Green New Deal" platform focused on jobs, drug intervention and green infrastructure... "If you get clean... you get a $60,000/yr job and free ongoing therapy/treatment. If you're a veteran... you get a job and free universal healthcare. If you worked in manufacturing and have been unemployed... you get a job and free universal healthcare."

That's another 100,000 - 150,000 more jobs. Suddenly, we're one of the fastest growing state's... not slowest.

"But that's just too progressive"!

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by HueysBack

That's what happens when fear sets in... you become regressive. #MAGA amiright?

Ohio could have been the first state in the Midwest to legalize marijuana 4 years ago, which would have brought in over $1 billion in tax revenue by now, lowered state expenditures by nearly $100M and birthed around 40,000 new jobs in that industry alone. Could have ran on a "Green New Deal" platform focused on jobs, drug intervention and green infrastructure... "If you get clean... you get a $60,000/yr job and free ongoing therapy/treatment. If you're a veteran... you get a job and free universal healthcare. If you worked in manufacturing and have been unemployed... you get a job and free universal healthcare."

That's another 100,000 - 150,000 more jobs. Suddenly, we're one of the fastest growing state's... not slowest.

"But that's just too progressive"!

Ohio's medical community strongly opposed recreational marijuana when it was on the ballot in 2015, and likely would do so again, especially given the experiences in states that have legalized it, such as Colorado.

https://www.mdedge.com/ccjm/article/...s-and-pitfalls

[beach43ofus]

Ohio's stuck in their rust belt past. The unions drove wages up so high, it made Ohio vulnerable to imported goods. Then, the environmentalists doubled down on making it nearly impossible to manufacure anything in Ohio, and more jobs and commerce left. Ohio's like Michigan, they let unions and their government enablers kill the Goose that laid the golden egg.