The Business-Journal is reporting that Kasich has hired KPMG to look into selling/leasing the Ohio Turnpike:
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and other Democratic members of Ohio's congressional delegation are again criticizing plans by Gov. John Kasich to explore a potential lease of the Ohio Turnpike.
The renewed criticism comes in response to Ohio officials' selection of KPMG LLP for a federally subsidized state contract to study changes to the turnpike, including potential privatization of the toll road....
The renewed criticism comes in response to Ohio officials' selection of KPMG LLP for a federally subsidized state contract to study changes to the turnpike, including potential privatization of the toll road....
As Plunderbund pointed out yesterday, KPMG will get a substantial amount of money from Ohio-------$1.5 million. I wonder if KPMG had any business ties to Kasich while he was with Lehman Brothers. Is anyone checking this?
* Did you know that the anti-environmental Republicans who don't believe in global warming are actually killing Buckeye trees?
ThinkProgress:
This Saturday’s Crankshaft cartoon took on global warming, noting that climate change is threatening Ohio’s iconic buckeye trees, the namesake of the Ohio State Buckeyes. “Once it starts to affect football, they’ll get moving on climate change,” one character says:
As greenhouse pollution from oil and coal continues to build, the Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) is on its way out of the Buckeye State. Between 1990 and 2006, United States hardiness zones shifted northward, putting Ohio closer to the southern end of buckeye viability. That trend will accelerate. A 2007 study by Daniel W. McKenney and other forest scientists of the effect of climate pollution increases on 130 tree species projects major changes in North American tree populations, as practically all of the southern and western United States grow too warm and arid for nearly all species. The Ohio buckeye’s range, now centered on Ohio and Indiana, is projected to shrink and shift drastically under business-as-usual....
Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15th) and his small-minded, anti-environmental regulation buddies, are killing Buckeye trees!!!! Save the Buckeye tree! Vote Democratic!
*** Stivers also was mentioned in an article at American Banker. As a former bank lobbyist, Stivers always appears to go out of his way to push for things that large banks want, like less regulations, and less transparency. Even though he said in his campaign that he would bring jobs to the state, nothing has materialized except for his "job fair" that was a major photo op/campaign event for Stivers. In the article linked below, Stivers is pushing for legislation that protects consumers from risky bank maneuvers.
American Banker:
Three Republican-sponsored bills that would amend the derivatives provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are scheduled for a committee vote in the House on Wednesday.
If the measures become law, they would require regulators to rethink their approach to some of the thorny questions that have arisen during the implementation of the 2010 law's new derivatives rules.....
...A second bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, would exempt swaps traded between different affiliates within the same financial institution from some of the requirements imposed by Dodd-Frank....
The Stivers re-election campaign should produce signs that say "Protect the Bankers---NOT people." With Rep. Barney Frank retiring, we'll need someone else to step up and protect us from this greedy bankers. We know it won't be Stivers. According to OpenSecrets, Stivers has received over $284,000 in campaign contributions from the banking industry.