Politics
People in Columbus Ohio gathered on Saturday, February 8 at the Ohio Statehouse to defend immigrant families and end the war on Black America.
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Readers no doubt remember Trump’s first term bluster that Mexico would build the border wall, and pay for it. President López brought that racist promise to fruition then, and his hand-picked successor Scheinbaum renewed it February 4th, sending no less than ten thousand additional troops to the U.S. border.
To stop the flow of migrants back in 2019, President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent 15,000 troops to Mexico’s northern border, plus another 6,000 to the southern border with Guatemala. He did that after president Trump threatened tariffs, a menace he took back after Mexico reinforced its borders with its new-fangled National Guard. Sheinbaum folded before the same tactic.
Which is to say, Mexico paid for a wall made of soldiers rather than bricks, and paid their wages.
With so much attention on President Trump, there has been relatively little attention has been paid to Elon Musk, who welds quite a bit of influence in American politics.
Musk may not be as rich or as successful as he and others claim. His net worth may be artificially inflated to attract investors, huge loans, and billions in government subsidies.
Tesla is not really a success story yet. The auto company has had tens of thousands of customer complaints, returns, recalls, and thousands of cars they can't sell. Maybe if Tesla had some models which more people could afford, they might have stronger sales. But there are only a limited number of upper income drivers buying them.
Maybe if Trump really wants to save money for the government, then they could eliminate tax breaks, subsidies, and huge concessions to major money losing companies like Tesla and Space X.
Yesterday, January 29, Community Shelter Board (CSB) upper management has ignited outrage after contacting volunteers announcing immediate eviction for hundreds of vulnerable individuals and families out of emergency hotel shelters. Residents received even less information, with notices posted on doors and no contact information provided for follow-up questions.
When volunteers and residents asked social workers if they had more information, they were unaware of the “eviction by email.” The poorly communicated directive, delivered without clarity or empathy, has left volunteers and social workers scrambling to address panicked questions from displaced residents. This latest failure underscores a pattern of cruel mismanagement and highlights how city leadership prioritizes austerity over human dignity.
Leadership Failure: “Fundraise Tents” Instead of Solutions
Columbus City Council’s decision to appoint Otto Beatty III to replace outgoing City Council member and newly elected Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor should come as no surprise. Council President Hardin was apparently warned of the illegalities of his demands that the appointee be “an African American woman and somebody not seeking election to the seat in November” and appointed an African-American male. Hardin has no legal authority to place restrictions on the appointee from running for the seat or demanding that they be of a certain gender. The reason he places restrictions on running for the seat is to give the false impression that they are not giving the appointed person the advantage of incumbency in the future election for the seat. It really doesn't matter because the Franklin County Democratic Party will endorse a preordained candidate for the seat whether it’s the appointee or someone else.
Governor Mike DeWine recently appointed his Lt. Governor Jon Husted to fill J.D. Vance’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Innovation Ohio states: “This decision underscores a continued alignment with corporate price-gougers and further political divisions that threaten the well-being of Ohioans. The appointment raises significant concerns about the direction Senator Husted would take Ohio and our nation.”
“For Americans who may not know Jon Husted, allow an Ohioan to tell you all about him,” said Nick Tuell, Senior Communication Director at Innovation Ohio. “Husted is backed by big businesses that price-gouge us at the supermarket and at the gas pump, while they post record profits. As Ohio House Speaker, Husted eliminated taxes for big corporations at the expense of higher sales taxes on our everyday goods. Jon Husted is a career politician who always backs his big business pals over Ohio working families. He doesn’t care about us, he is only looking out for himself,” wrote an Innovation Ohio press statement.
On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel as President Trump retakes office: rough.
Trump and his allies in Congress are already rolling out plans to cut taxes for billionaires, slash services for the rest of us, pollute the planet, and deport people who’ve lived here their whole lives.
But if you look closely, you’ll see signs people aren’t just going to accept all this. Here are five that caught my eye from this past election year.
1. Populist anger is boiling over.
Americans have had it with economic elites. Union activity has been on an upswing for a few years running now, with union petition filings in 2024 significantly up over 2023.
Wednesday, January 8, Governor DeWine officially signed the Paystub Protection Act, with Central Ohio Worker Center (COWC) and Policy Matters Ohio staff by his side. In this important move, Ohio now joins 41 other states in requiring employers to provide earnings and deductions statements to each of the employer's employees.
The bill, which received unanimous support in both the House and the Senate earlier in 2024, goes into effect in April. The bill was sponsored by Representatives Dontravius L Jarrells and P. Scott Lipps, with 14 additional co-sponsors. COWC, along with Policy Matters Ohio, have been working to support the act's passage along the way. During testimony to the Ohio Senate in December, Claudia Cortez, Program Director of COWC, shared that this will “help ensure that workers are paid fairly and transparently by providing them with a clear breakdown of wages and deductions. Pay stubs are also often necessary for workers needing proof of income for housing, loans, and other financial requirements.”
