From Quinnipiac University:

Ohio voters continue to give Gov. Ted Strickland good grades, with a 55 - 23 percent job approval, but they say 65 - 3 percent that the state economy has deteriorated under his stewardship and are very pessimistic about the future, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

That is interesting, considering, that Gov. Bob Taft’s approval rating after his first two years in office was: 69 PERCENT.

Apparently, Ohio voters are somewhat schizophrenic:

Voters say 58 - 32 percent that Ohio’s economy has suffered because state requirements have made it too costly for business. But voters favor 71 - 24 percent a requirement that companies with more than 25 employees must provide employees seven paid sick days per year.[...]

Voters say 28 - 12 percent that Ohio is less friendly to business than other states, while 53 percent say it is about the same as other states.

The question was asked as, “In general do you think that Ohio is more friendly to business than most other states, less friendly, or about the same?” I assume that if it was mentioned that Ohio’s business tax climate is the 46th in the nation, the reaction against Ohio’s high business taxes would have been stronger.

And a paid sick day mandate on business is just another tax on business, as it increases the expense of hiring employees and could price low-skilled workers out of a job. I assume the results would have also been different if more voters realized that a sick day mandate could force their employers to take away other benefits in exchange for sick days, even if the worker is young and healthy.

And this was the most interesting to me…

On other matters, Ohio voters support 85 - 12 percent a proposal to make English the state’s official language and support 84 - 10 percent a law that would allow people to use any means necessary to defend themselves against an intruder in their home.

The English-only bill is quite unnecessary and appears to be just an election year bill that Republicans pass after spending most of their time passing Ted Strickland’s budget, Ted Strickland’s energy policy, and anything else the Governor wants. But I support the English-only in principal, and the castle doctrine is a way to ensure that people don’t have to hesitate defending their families from criminals. But the most important point to make about these two results is to show how out of touch the editorial boards of Ohio’s newspapers are with the people of Ohio– And they still wonder why their circulation is dropping!