John Kasich - Cut Taxes, Ask Questions Later.

In Cleveland, a small group of city council members warned that Kasich’s plan would suck money from the city's budget and deplete jobs and services. Their message: Don’t mess with Cleveland’s local government fund, which accounts for about 10 percent of the city’s general fund, or $56 million.

Kasich’s plan, while still nebulous, became a bit clearer after state representative John Adams introduced a bill that proposed an income tax phase-out over 10 years. That plan would cost state and local governments and libraries nearly $900 million in its first years, and losses would rise to more than $12 billion by 2020, according to an Ohio Legislative Service Commission analysis.

In Cleveland, says council president Martin Sweeney, every $1 million lost could cost the city 12 police officers or 20 non-safety city employees. Sweeney was joined by Majority Leader Phyllis Cleveland (Ward 5), Jeff Johnson (Ward 8) and Martin Keane (Ward 19). Cleveland dismissed the income tax plan “voodoo economics.” To Republicans, she said, “Poor people don’t matter, working-class people don’t matter. In their mind, you get what you deserve.”

But the income tax generates an estimated 40 percent of state revenue. Considering the budget agonies Ohio has endured in the past few years as the recession and joblessness have eroded tax collections, that’s an enormous hole in the state budget — and state services. Those library folks who were fuming about the cuts in the last budget haven’t seen anything yet if Kasich is elected and is able to enact his agenda.

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There is overwhelming proof that lowering taxes has little to no effect on economic growth. Recall the much-touted “Taft tax cut,” which went into effect four years ago. It was supposed to provide an economic boost to the state, but in that time, Ohio has seen increased job loss. (In December, Governor Strickland signed a bill that delayed the final installment of a cut that would have saved the average worker less than $100.)

Given the fundamental dishonesty of his position, it’s no surprise that Kasich has been vague about exactly how and when his plan would go into effect. Initially, he claimed that income-tax repeal would help pull Ohio out of recession. Then he said that it might have to wait until after the recession, perhaps briefly recognizing the staggering job losses that would result — losses the much-beloved-by-Republicans “private sector” shows no signs of replacing. More recently, he has been talking about a phased-in income tax repeal, perhaps over 10 years, echoing representative Adams’ bill. But lost money is still lost money, and he hasn’t explained yet how he would make up for a 40 percent drop in state revenue, or what programs and services he would cut.