BOARDMAN - National talk show host Jerry Springer says tax breaks for the rich - people like him - don't make an ounce of sense because if history is a guide, when that happens the economy goes bust, and the wealthy don't take those tax savings and hire new workers.
Instead, he says, they ship jobs overseas.
So he's got an idea if Republicans continue pushing breaks for the wealthy: Do away with the credit and if a wealthy person really hires more people, they can get a refund.
''So let's do it that way,'' Springer said. ''So therefore, we're not giving tax breaks to any wealthy person that didn't hire more people, just give it to those that actually do. Let's see how far that piece of legislation can actually get.''
Springer spoke Thursday evening at the Mahoning County Democratic Party's annual hall of fame dinner. Before the $50-a-ticket event, a $100-a-ticket private reception was held.
Before his speech, the former mayor of Cincinnati touched on a number of issues, including Republican Gov. John Kasich and Ohio's new collective bargaining law, which he sees as pivotal toward organizing Democrats and a Democratic agenda.
On Kasich, Springer said Ohioans are now paying the price for having elected him. ''People are upset and they are upset because we now have a government that is saying to the middle class, screw you, you know we're going to take care of our friends first. It is a class war.''
Springer said it's happening all over the country, not just Ohio. ''Why are you giving me a tax break, how stupid is that and this argument that if you give the richest 1 percent a tax break, they'll hire more people just isn't true,'' he said.
Springer also says he sees Ohio remaining politically important in the future. ''Ohio is a critical state, it is a microcosm of America as much as any other state in the union,'' Springer said.
The thing about Ohio is that people in Ohio have been in Ohio forever, unlike states like New York and California, states with populations of people from other places. In addition, Ohio is urban with eight large cities, but still rural with agriculture being the state largest economy.
''We are, as I said a microcosm of America, so if we can fix the problem in Ohio, that's good news for the rest of America,'' Springer said.
Springer said the idea that working people in the U.S. cannot organize themselves is distasteful, especially had it not been for labor a middle class would not exist, and workers today would not benefit from safe working conditions, pensions and other benefits.
''The idea that working people in the United States of America can't get together and organize for a better life for themselves when we cheer it, when we see them demonstrating in the Middle East. We think that's wonderful, when they organize for greater freedoms and yet, when you do it here in the United States, if it's working people, sorry, it's not going to be permitted,'' Springer said. ''So so many things we do seems to have the motive of just helping the very rich against everyone else.''
