AG Petro 2 cut 11,500 gov jobs

The Toledo Blade reports that Ohio Attorney General Robert Petro has vowed to reform Ohio's state government by trimming 11,500 payroll employees. His proposal will streamline the overbloated government, which currently is composed of the "toos": too many departments, overlapping agencies, commissions, and boards. AG Petro plans to streamline the bearacratic system by placing the appropriate departments into nine meta-agencies: education, public safety, transportation, public health, resource protection, business coordination, etc... Making further flirtations with tax reform, he described the State Tax System as "Depression-era Economic Thinking."

This proposal is seen as an effort to launch his '06 gubernatorial bid against J. Kenneth Blackwell. SOS Blackwell graciously welcomed Petro "to the list of those who want to reduce the tax-burden on the working families of Ohio."

However, the Tolede Blade biased itself in favor of Petro and against Blackwell. They begin by admitting that indeed this is an effort to launch his guber bid, but its a "bold move" transcending petty "electioneering," even raising "issues that deserve to be debated." The Blade claims that this issue is clearly a "political gamble" for the AG, that will force candidates of both parties to reveal "some new ideas of their own".

SOS Blackwell, however, as a "wanabee governor... fresh from his mismanagement of the Ohio election system," has managed to "stand pat... [with] old ideas." SJB's plan will "not improve... the tax climate."

The Blade conveniently leaves out the Mr. Blackwell's tax refund, which occurs when gov't profit exeeds 14.99%, as well as the fact that Blackwell opposed the Taft machinery's tax-increase.

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