Ohioans’ approval ratings for Gov. John Kasich are taking a nosedive.
According to an ongoing Quinnipiac poll, 22 percent of Ohioans disapproved of Kasich when he took office in January, and 30 percent approved.
The telling number is the 48 percent who were undecided.
That number has shifted drastically as only 12 percent remain undecided.
Those formerly undecided voters have joined the 52 percent who now disapprove of the governor.
Under Kasich, the jobless rate has subsided. Ohio unemployment is on par with the national average of 9.1 percent, down from 10.6 percent when the governor took office.
So, how has the governor’s disapproval rating ballooned 30 points in just six months?
Two out of three Ohioans failed to see eye to eye with the governor over SB 5. That’s how.
The governor chose to tackle budget deficits by amending health care and pension plans for government employees.
He should have looked elsewhere.
Education has been cut and private reforms, though controversial, have been enacted.
Kasich should look next to reforming out-of-control health care costs.
Medicaid expenditures alone will climb $800 million next year, totaling $18.8 billion with a staggering 2.2 million Ohioans in the program.
SB 5 wasted time and money, which caused too many people to lose focus on the state issues at hand.
The governor needs to stop barking up the wrong tree. The public bites when teased.
