Gov. John Kasich to Obama: Do your own job before you offer any opinion on Ohio's solutions?

As part of his struggle to regain control of the Washington debate agenda over balancing the federal budget his way, President Obama has taken to granting targeted TV interviews from the White House to select political markets around the country.

This week one of them was with Cleveland's WKYC during which he opined that he strongly disapproved of states like Ohio and Wisconsin balancing their seriously troubled budgets by limiting the bargaining abilities of powerful public unions.

Wisconsin has received much of the national attention on this issue for its limits on 175,000 public union members, although the law is currently enjoined by a  court.

But Ohio has also taken firm action under the leadership of Republican ex-congressman and new Gov. John Kasich. As part of an immense, multifaceted reform and cutting process to address the state's $8 billion structural deficit, Kasich has signed a controversial measure called SB 5.

It has no effect on the wage and work-condition bargaining rights of the state's 350,000 public union members, twice the size of Wisconsin's membership. SB 5 does, however, remove sick time, pension benefits and healthcare from negotiations between unions and the government.

Obama suggested this was blaming public workers for the public problems.

Kasich was asked about the president's strong opinion. And Kasich offered his own strong response. The full answer is on the video below, but Kasich said in the 1990s he had been House Budget Committee chairman and chief architect of the last federal budget to be balanced.

He noted that Ohioans' elected representatives had reached this legislative agreement and, as required by law, balanced the state budget while preserving tax cuts. Then, he added:

"The president of the United States has I think a $13 trillion debt. Why doesn't he do his job? When he does his job and gets our budget balanced and starts to prepare a future for our children, then maybe he can have an opinion on what's going on in Ohio."

Strong letter to follow.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Chris Carlson / Associated Press

Comments

[carol]

Awesome response!

Obama's such a freakin' narcissist....

[SteerableDad]

Perfect. Kasich said what needed to be said.

[anthony]

a $13 trillion debt of which a large part was created by the expense of borrowing money to pay for a war for weapons that do not exist,a war Kasich solidly supported.

another right wing hypocrite.

[Captain Steve]

Part of me agrees that Obama should shut up and do his own job, but. . .

McDonald's got more than a MILLION applications and hired 62K. That's a 94% rejection rate for a minimum wage job at McDonald's. Obama's leftism/progressivism/Marxism/obamanism is ruining the economy. ObaMao said he wanted to "fundamentally remake America." Here it is. Hope you like it. (btw, who "remakes" something they love/like/and think is basically good? no one.)

So I'm thinking, we'd all be better off if he stopped doing his job. He's done enough damage.

[Yeswecan]

Please........Get Barack Obama out before he destroys everything good in this country. Let the governors govern their states, that's what they were elected to do. Obama is trying to control everybody and everything. This is not the president's job.

[Lorenem]

Anthony--
since 9-11-2001 to 3-29, 2011
$806 billion for Iraq
$444 billion for Afghanistan
???????????????

[Lorenem]

A real leader and a man who says what he means and means what he says. Love John Kasich!

[ugg]

The best way to pay down the debt is to monitor Corporate America who supplies our Government with their never ending needs. Remember------Our Government doesn't manufacture or produce the things they use, Our Government buys from Industry, the same as you and I do. Think of how much and how many products Our Government purchases form industry every year. Whoever monitors this activity; if they do it right can cut our debt in half in about 2 years by stopping the graft and corrupt dealings which produce large numbers of these Billionaires. Think of this, it’s a new Profiteer’s Disease they believe people will pay anything to get what they want even if they have to borrow money to pay for it. Problem comes when they can’t pay back the borrowed money. The Oil Companies (both American and Foreign) stated it; (they are getting away with keeping it going.) The monkey see monkey do effect will spread into other industries and continue from inertia though out all industries until someone with foresight and understand presents a sensible way to stop it.
Most customers buying the necessities of live are captive customers, they have no other choice but to buy or do without. Government regulations are needed to correct this situation so as progress can move forward and the economy can prosper. If your Congress doesn’t pass legislation to correct the problems of price gouging by profiteers, you need new Congressmen. If anyone tells you prices are ok the way they are, they are either wrong or they need their incomes lowered and you need your income raised. Are we all paying too much because we can borrow. Should we attack the seller for overcharging on te neccessities of life like Oil, food etc., or should be regulate more?

[Steve]

"a $13 trillion debt of which a large part was created by the expense of borrowing money to pay for a war for weapons that do not exist,a war Kasich solidly supported.

another right wing hypocrite.

Posted by: anthony | April 29, 2011 at 07:27 AM"

Continuing to parrot half truths and outright lies doesn't make them any more true when you do it than when Obama does it. Get over the lies about Iraq and WMD, we all know they exist, they were used, hell, some of them came from the US. How exactly did the Iraqi military use weapons which you continue to insist never existed?

As for the current pinhead in the Whitehouse, he has already, just over half way thru his first term, accumulated more debt than all the previous administrations COMBINED. How was that Bush's fault again?

Please, go have another glass of Kool Aid and keep your uninformed opinions to yourself. Mkaythanksbye.