Ohio Poll Results on National, State Leaders, Economy No Surprise

The Ohio Poll asked Ohioans their perception of economic conditions in the United States and in Ohio. One percent rate economic conditions in the U.S. as “excellent,” nine percent rate conditions as “good,” 34 percent say “fair” and 56 percent rate U.S. economic conditions as “poor.”

When asked their perception of economic conditions in Ohio, one percent rate economic conditions in the state as “excellent,” nine percent rate conditions as “good,” 37 percent say “fair” and 53 percent rate Ohio economic conditions as “poor.” Ohioans were then asked if economic conditions in Ohio are getting better or worse. Seventy-nine percent see the direction of Ohio’s economy as “getting worse,” while 12 percent say Ohio’s economy is “getting better.” An additional seven percent of Ohio adults see Ohio’s economy as staying about the same.

These findings are based on the latest Ohio Poll, conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. The Ohio Poll is sponsored by the University of Cincinnati. The Poll was conducted between May 16 and June 4, 2008.

Bye Bye Columbus, Ohio or America

Shedding a tear as they entered New York harbor and set eyes on the Statue of Liberty for the first time, as they made their way a century ago from a country and a continent where economic opportunity was sparse and the winds of war were starting to blow, aspiring immigrants hoping to become American citizens were excited to make a better life for themselves and their families.

But America today is not the same America of a century ago. As Andrew Abramson writes at PalmBeachPost.com, a growing tide of Americans are ready to book passage out of New York Harbor back to the countries where their fathers or mothers or grandparents were born in an effort to secure dual citizenship in a country like Italy, Ireland or Germany as they seek lives of promise and opportunity, much as their forefathers did when they ventured to America long ago.

The Europe of today unlike the Europe of yesteryear is composed of 27 sovereign nations who are banding together in many ways to form a united Europe that retains the best aspects of themselves and adds advantages that can take advantage of the growing global economy.

Americans, Abramson writes, can claim citizenship in any of the 27 European countries that are in the EU based on the nationality of their parents, or in some cases, grandparents and great-grandparents. He says citizenship in one of those countries allows you to live and work in any EU nation. And since the United States doesn't keep statistics on dual citizens, he says it's impossible to know exactly how many people have applied for citizenship in Europe, but speculates that a reasonable estimate is that more than 40 million Americans are eligible for dual citizenship, and a growing number of Americans want to try their luck elsewhere.

Ohioans, according to the last Quinnipiac University Poll about Ohio, showed that while many Buckeyes can't go to another country, they are thinking of going to greener pastures in other states as Ohio's economy spits and sputters.

The trend for some whose ancestry makes applying for dual citizenship a viable option due to their ancestry notwithstanding accusations that to do so was a betrayal of one’s patriotism, the legal footing to do so became reality in 1967, when the Supreme court in a 5-4 ruling in the case of Afroyim vs. Rusk rules it was unconstitutional to bar dual citizenship. Before this ruling, it was possible for the United States to revoke American citizenship for people who voted in foreign elections.

As the dollar weakens along with the economy, as today’s Ohio Poll results show, and the Euro, now a decade old, strengthens, Abramson says becoming a citizen of your father or grandfather’s European country is an attractive alternative for some, like Amber Alfano, a recent University of Florida graduate who is becoming an Italian citizen like her father.

"I'm doing it as an exit strategy of sorts," Alfano told Abramson. "I like knowing that I have another place to go if things get even worse here, or if I just get tired of running on the American mouse wheel. She said her father was the one who “put a bug in her ear about the whole citizenship thing.” Alfano told Abramson that Europeans are “more interested in the quality of life than the quantity,” and that it was a good place to have and raise children because of the way their social systems work. She said that while she doesn’t care much about the child-rearing part, she would “gladly trade in some of my material possessions for a little flat, a scooter and more vacation."

As America’s fortunes and once-revered leadership has dipped during the last two terms of President Bush, who as we see in today’s International Herald Tribune is being seen as a president whose time has come and gone for European leaders and especially their constituents who harbor no affection for America’s 43rd president, some who seek dual citizenship are saying that “the world is a bigger place than America” and that the rapid advance of technology in creating a global economy is spurring the notion that America is no longer the final destination for a better life as it once was.

Abramson says that every country has its own process for obtaining citizenship, and that Ireland, Italy and Greece are among the most lenient in terms of letting an individual claim citizenship, not just from a parent but from a grandparent or possibly a great-grandparent.