YOUNGSTOWN—Standing outside the Newport Branch Library, Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally today denounced Republican gubernatorial candidate Congressman John Kasich’s reckless tax plan that would eliminate more than 40% of state revenue and devastate local communities.

“As the global economic recession has hit Ohio, every local community, including Mahoning County, has been forced to make cuts to live within our means,” McNally said. “Given the cuts that we have already made, the impact that Congressman Kasich’s reckless tax plan would have on our community would be disastrous.”

McNally highlighted a recent non-partisan Legislative Services Commission analysis, which showed that the tax plan supported by Congressman Kasich would create a $12 billion budget deficit by 2020. The same study showed if Congressman Kasich’s plan were fully implemented, it would slash state government funding to Mahoning County by over 45%- decreasing state funding from $9.7 million to $5.3 million a year- and cut funding for libraries from $8.3 million to $4.5 million a year. [Associated Press, 1/14/10; Legislative Service Commission, 12/30/09, 1/8/10, 1/15/10]

“Congressman Kasich’s plan would force communities like Youngstown to make an unthinkable decision,” McNally said. “We would have to either make devastating cuts to schools, police and fire departments, and hospitals or drastically increase local property and income taxes on our citizens. Ohio’s local communities simply cannot afford Congressman Kasich’s reckless plans.”

Since announcing his candidacy for governor in June 2009, Kasich has made a repeal of the state income tax a cornerstone of his campaign platform. His proposal has been criticized widely across the state. The Akron Beacon Journal said that Kasich’s proposal would create a “massive hole” in the state budget and that Ohioans deserve a “full explanation” of his plan. Similarly, a columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer called Kasich’s plan “reckless” and said that “the sort of gibberish that sounds good on Fox News doesn't necessarily make for good public policy in the heartland.” [Akron Beacon Journal, 1/16/10; Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1/24/10]

For more information on the Kasich tax plan and the cuts it will impose on local communities, visit www.kasichcuts.com