Protect Consumers? Not in Ohio!

Republican Speaker of the Ohio House Bill Batchelder and the rest of the Republicans have been working hard to put business, corporations, and CEO's in control of everything.  Forget about consumers' rights and protections.  The Ohio Republicans want their fat cat contributors to pillage the environment, look the other way when toxins get dumped , and make millions of dollars so they can contribute more to the GOP. 


In May 2011, someone put a gag order on the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, which reads, according to the Dispatch:

"The counsel shall not advocate or otherwise promote any position contrary to the development of competitive markets in this state, including any position contrary to natural gas retail auctions, merchant function exit or the policies of this state relating to competitive natural gas markets."

The Republicans are definitely not on your side.  If people are getting sick, poisoned, ripped off, overcharged, etc., it is fully approved by the Ohio Republican Party.  The Ohio GOP cannot allow human beings and their health issues to stand in the way of business.

Of course, I wasn't surprised by this information from the DaytonDailyNews:

The leader of the state agency that advocates for residential customers of Ohio utilities said Wednesday she is resigning, saying she can no longer do the job after Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly cut millions of dollars from the agency’s budget.

Janine Migden-Ostrander said she will step down on Oct. 15 after seven years as the Ohio consumers’ counsel. Bruce J. Weston, the deputy consumers’ counsel, is to be her interim replacement until a permanent successor is hired.....

“I am leaving because the current environment makes it impossible for me to serve the only way I know how — as an advocate focused on achieving results for the public,” Migden-Ostrander said.....

I wonder which pro-utility, anti-consumer, business connected pal of Kasich's will get the nod?