Voice of reason: Cleveland's Plain Dealer comes down FOR 'Ohio Bill 5"

[cbelt3]

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.s...incart_mce
"When they mark their ballots, Ohioans cannot worry about what is best for any political party or interest group -- on either side of this debate. They need to consider what's best for the future of their children, their communities, their state.

They need to pass Issue 2."

- - -

A well reasoned commentary. In a collapsing economy when the State cannot afford to fund even the most basic necessities, why must a political group hold on to their storied sense of entitlement ?

Of all the hyperbole I've read, this is the only reasoned commentary.

Ed: I just realized this is a highly local issue and you might not be familiar with the back story. The short version is that Ohio's legislators passed a law stripping state, county, city, and town union employees of certain rights and privileges they have held under Ohio law.

[Grace62]

The Plain Dealer is a conservative, Republican rag. Has been for many years.

[Acer]

"Imperfect though it may be..."

Translation: "This legislation has significant flaws. But anything that guts unions is worth the risk."

[RgrF]

Grace62 wrote:
The Plain Dealer is a conservative, Republican rag. Has been for many years.

So isn't rustbelt.

[Lux Interior]

cbelt3 wrote:
Ed: I just realized this is a highly local issue and you might not be familiar with the back story.

Ohio's the one between Indiana & Pennsylvania, right?

[cbelt3]

Grace, ma dear, that's the ultimate of ad hominem arguments...reject the message based on your opinion of who or what is giving it, rather than discuss the message on its own merits.

What is your actual opinion of the editorial ? I'm interested, because I know you have been a staunch supporter of the opposing view in the past, and I would expect you to have a much more organized argument against it.

FWIW, considering it's the ONLY Cleveland newspaper, AND it's still around in a city that has been controlled by the Democratic party machine for decades, I would tend to disagree with your assessment of the Plain Dealer. Besides, I generally completely disagree with their editorials which usually consist of a lot of liberal hand-wringing. So that's my assessment.

[Chakravartin]

cbelt3 wrote:
A well reasoned commentary. In a collapsing economy when the State cannot afford to fund even the most basic necessities, why must a political group hold on to their storied sense of entitlement ?

They don't actually make much of an argument in the editorial.

The author(s) mostly list a bunch of opinions as if they were facts and then jump to a conclusion.

That isn't an argument.

It's disinformation.

...

Senate Bill 5 outlaws strikes and arbitration. It removes pension and health benefits even as it sucks more money out of teachers' salaries for the few benefits remaining. Incredibly, it takes negotiations out of the hands of unions and puts final decisions about salary and benefits in the hands of a conservative board. And it makes layoffs "performance-based" in such a way that a school board member with a tick up his ass could get rid of any teacher s/he'd like.

It's fascist. It's fundamentally unamerican.

It's also a republican wet-dream.

So, yeah. It seems that the editorial board's objectivity is compromised.

[beagledave]

cbelt3 wrote:
FWIW, considering it's the ONLY Cleveland newspaper, AND it's still around in a city that has been controlled by the Democratic party machine for decades, I would tend to disagree with your assessment of the Plain Dealer. Besides, I generally completely disagree with their editorials which usually consist of a lot of liberal hand-wringing. So that's my assessment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plain_D...l_leanings

[Grace62]

Chakravartin wrote:
[quote=cbelt3]
A well reasoned commentary. In a collapsing economy when the State cannot afford to fund even the most basic necessities, why must a political group hold on to their storied sense of entitlement ?

They don't actually make much of an argument in the editorial.

The author(s) mostly list a bunch of opinions as if they were facts and then jump to a conclusion.

That isn't an argument.

It's disinformation.

...

Senate Bill 5 outlaws strikes and arbitration. It removes pension and health benefits even as it sucks more money out of teachers' salaries for the few benefits remaining. Incredibly, it takes negotiations out of the hands of unions and puts final decisions about salary and benefits in the hands of a conservative board. And it makes layoffs "performance-based" in such a way that a school board member with a tick up his ass could get rid of any teacher s/he'd like.

It's fascist. It's fundamentally unamerican.

It's also a republican wet-dream.

So, yeah. It seems that the editorial board's objectivity is compromised.
What he said.