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Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)
Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)
"Gov. Kasich: A Year in Review" +
3:24 video from Dec. 19, 2013.
[Music throughout] Gov. John Kasich: As we head into the new
year, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and I look back with thanks for the strong,
effective partnerships that are helping us continue to change the
business as usual approach that held Ohio back in the past.
As a result, we've
made some impressive progress in 2013 to make our state a better place
to work and to live and to raise a family. But we can't let
up. We have to keep our foot on the gas. Because job
creation is our number one priority, much of our work over the past
year focused on how we continue to improve Ohio's jobs friendly climate
and achieve long-lasting and meaningful economic success.
We cut taxes by
$2.7 billion, more than any other state, by cutting income taxes
10-percent for all Ohioans and by cutting taxes for virtually every
small business in half.
We also gave
employers a billion dollars back from worker's comp because careful
management of the system has generated strong surpluses.
We've developed a
better way to fund Ohio schools and our growing economy allowed us to
invest more than $1.6 billion in new money in education, the largest
increase in a decade. That's so that every child has a chance to
succeed regardless of where they live. We also gave schools new
resources to think outside the box and bring the best and most
innovative reform ideas to work for our kids in the classroom.
We've incentivized
our colleges and universities to work harder to help students get their
degrees and certificates by tying their funding to graduation rates and
course completion.
We found an
innovative and a creative way to tackle Ohio's most pressing
transportation needs and that of course is a crucial factor for a
growing economy, and we did it without a tax increase.
For years, red tape
stood in the way of veterans who wanted to use their military service
experience to get a job. Frankly it was unacceptable. So we
lifted unnecessary barriers and helped open up the job market for
Ohio's valued veterans.
And we extended
health care coverage to low-income working Ohioans to help give them a
path up and out of poverty and onward to a better life.
These and other
successes were possible in part because of Ohio's stable budget and our
growing economy. I was proud to see our rainy day fund climb to a
record $1.4 billion this year, a stark comparison to the 89 cents we
had in 2011 when we faced an $8 billion budget deficit hole, that by
the way was the largest in state history.
Putting those money problems behind us has made it possible to focus on making Ohio a better place to live, by doing things like writing new prescription drug guidelines to help prevent addiction, launching a new campaign to fight the evil of human trafficking and helping our seniors learn how to prevent falls, one of the leading causes of serious injury among Ohio's older population.
You know as we
close the books on 2013, it's great to see Ohio continuing to move in
the right direction. We do have a lot of work to do, but we can
look ahead with confidence to 2014 because we've shown that we know how
to work together with creativity and good will to improve our state and
make life better for all of our neighbors. Merry Christmas, Happy
Holidays, Happy New Year and god Bless Ohio.
Notes: