Cato Institute says: Taft is Nation's Worst Governor based on Fiscal Performance



Cato Institute says: Taft is Nation's Worst Governor based on Fiscal Performance

Taft Called Nation's Worst Governor
Governors Ranked On Fiscal Performance

UPDATED: 11:28 am EST March 2, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's Bob Taft is ranked last among the nation's governors for fiscal policies.

Three other governors, all Democrats, also received failing marks on a Washington-based think tank's fiscal report card, but the Republican Taft's overall score was the worst.

The libertarian Cato Institute ranked the governors on 15 measures of fiscal performance.

It criticized Taft for proposing large spending increases while the state faced ballooning budget deficits. It also blamed Taft for delaying Ohio's economic rebound by raising taxes.

"About the only good news to report is that Bob Taft is term-limited and cannot run for office again," said the institute's Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2004.

In response, Taft spokesman Mark Rickel said the report doesn't credit the governor for closing six state institutions, trimming the number of state employees and reducing the fleet of state vehi4cles -- all while maintaining an AA bond rating.

The three Democrats receiving "F" marks were Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania, James McGreevey of New Jersey and Bob Holden of Missouri.

The top-ranked governor was Arnold Schwarzenegger, of California.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory.

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February 26, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Folk-Singer Steve Schuch releases "Trees of Life" 26 Feb Christopher Bartlett maintains Marine Protected Area 25 Feb Joseph Frey uses amputation experience to help others 25 Feb James McCann concerned by maize in Ethiopia 25 Feb Sen. Obama says PC can help improve diplomacy 24 Feb PCVs help remove batteries in Belize 24 Feb Jimmy Carter praises mother's PC service 24 Feb Craig D. Wandke's lunar passion began in Honduras 23 Feb Char Andrews discusses her experience with cancer 23 Feb Beverly Seckinger tells stories through film 23 Feb J. Tyler Dickovick: As Togo goes, so may go Africa 23 Feb Andres Hernandez searches for PCV for 40 years 23 Feb Bulgaria is now like second home to Aaron Wills 22 Feb Bernadette Roberts to serve as diplomat in Albania 22 Feb USA Freedom Corps downgraded at White House 22 Feb Tom Skeldon seeks to control pit bull trade 21 Feb Gabriela Lena Frank writes music on Dad's PCV service 21 Feb

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Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey.

Read the stories and leave your comments.

By John Adams (mid-tgn-ngf-vty1.as.wcom.net - 216.192.74.1) on Wednesday, April 05, 2006 - 6:29 pm: Edit Post

The road to Hell is paved with wrong decisions.
They are so dumb that they can't tell the difference between good intentions and wrong decisions. There is nothing good about wrong decisions made as a result of malicious intent. The idea that only good intentions can cause evil is absurd. Many wrong decisions are the result deliberate maliciousness. Only a small number are the result of good intentions that have gone wrong.

It is such twisted thinking that will destroy the human species - along with the other apes as well.