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Akron
Beacon Journal...
Surplus
of
slogans
July 5,
2012
John Kaisch
declared Tuesday a “very good news day.” The governor cited the state’s
improved balance sheet, Ohio ending the fiscal year with $482 million
in its
“rainy day” fund. This does deserve applause, reflecting a state in
recovery,
albeit a slow one. After the severe recession, the fund contained jut
89 cents.
Might a portion of the revived sum go to school districts and local
governments
that are coping with sharp reductions in money flowing from the state?
Not a
chance, the governor argued in a session with reporters. “We are not
going back
to yesterday,” he reasoned. “We are not going to spend this money.
We’ve had a
long period of tax and spend, and we’re not going to do it.”
Tax and
spend? In 2005, six years before Kasich returned to the Statehouse,
lawmakers
launched a 21 percent reduction in individual income tax rates. They
reduced
the tax burden on businesses. In addition, many Republicans praised the
spending restraint of Ted Strickland. Then, in the final two years of
his term
as governor, Strickland steadily reduced spending to match falling
revenues.
At another
point, Kasich repeated his argument that income tax rates represent
“one of the
biggest impediments” to new growth and jobs. Yet Ohio performed better
with
higher rates in the 1990s. More, higher rates in other states have not
prevented them from outpacing Ohio. One key is striking an effective
balance,
yet a major part of the Kasich budget strategy has been to boot the
most
difficult decisions to local governments and school districts, where
officials
are weighing the need to raise revenue, and thus taxes.
The
governor explained that “too much uncertainty” makes unlikely a new tax
cut
now. He relayed frustration with Medicaid expanding under the new
health-care
law. He cited an added two-year, $900 million obligation. Of course,
this
expense involves covering those who already are eligible for Medicaid
but have
not enrolled. Would the governor prefer they did not sign up, even with
Washington picking up 60 percent of the cost?
Kasich
jabbed about the actual expansion of Medicaid eligibility: “This is
pretty
amazing that Congress passes a program without any responsibility for
how it
gets paid for.” No responsibility? The federal government will cover
100
percent of the cost for three years, and then 90 percent.
Addressing
the larger notion of why “we are not going to spend this money,” the
governor
argued that it is “a time for change in the culture, government really
as a
last resort, not as a first resort.” A last resort for public schools
dismissing teachers and narrowing academic offerings? For cities with
safety
forces and other essential services? For Ohioans lacking access to
affordable
health insurance? These priorities deserve better than the tired slogan
of “tax
and spend.” They are part of building a more prosperous Ohio.
Read this
and other articles at the Akron Beach Journal
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