Friday, August 05, 2011

Ohio Governor Anti-Talent

Don't even think about moving to Ohio. Governor John Kasich doesn't want your skills. Not only is he anti-immigrant. He doesn't like domestic migrants who cross state lines. Introducing the sovereign nation of Ohio:

Chesapeake Energy Corp. announced recently that it believed the 1.25 million acres it has leased in eastern Ohio contained minerals worth $15 billion to $20 billion, which prompted Ohio Gov. John Kasich to call on his state to support an indigenous drilling industry.

"I don't want any foreigners working on wellheads," Kasich said in a speech last week. "Foreigners are people who come from Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky, and those distant foreigners from Texas."

In other words, Ohio is closed for business. Perhaps Kasich should try to grasp some of the fundamentals of labor markets before he opens his big mouth again. Fanning the flames of xenophobia will undermine economic development. It will also buy votes.

Of course, Kasich can't do anything about who staffs the wellheads in Ohio. He is posturing, trying to lower the political resistance to fracking. He'll eat his words at some fundraiser in the near future. Until then, Ohio jobs for Ohio residents. But not a dime for workforce development.

6 comments:

Kevin said...

I don't know how much of this is posturing. It follows the same pattern as earlier remarks that you've noted. I'm starting to think he may actually believe this nonsense.

Jim Russell said...

Kevin,

Point taken about Kasich's parochial outlook. Isn't he from Pittsburgh? That would explain it.

But Kasich won't say no to the natural gas industry. The labor protectionist rhetoric only goes so far.

Kevin said...

Agreed. That became obvious before he even took office, when he picked an oil and gas executive to lead the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

rootvg said...

Jim, I'd like to say I'm surprised by what's happening at home but I'm not.

Jim Russell said...

rootvg,

I know you've talked a lot about this issue. It is definitely a big problem, and not just in Ohio.

Brendan Crain said...

That man is a pure lunatic.