Dear Editor,

Your recent editorial on the Ohio Budget titled, "OK, now it's a crisis" carried a correct headline. Unfortunately the prescription you recommend will not cure the disease.  To solve the Ohio budget crisis one must understand the cycle of tax and spend politics in this state.   Governors and legislators always look to increase the size and cost of government because they want to please constituents who come to Columbus and ask for help. Seldom, if ever, do the independent, hard-working taxpayers come to Columbus and ask for anything. They are too busy working to pay the tax bills for everyone else.

Government spending works like a retail store that artificially marks up prices before a big sale. The Governor and the Legislature have been crying over big spending cuts but the truth is the state of Ohio will likely spend more money this year than just two years ago. They have not truly cut the size of the state government. They have only cut the size of the growth. If they are truly cutting government then why are we still paying more, not less, after their cuts?

The Ohio Budget is in crisis because Republican leaders refuse to reform Medicaid. Cutting costs alone will not work. A major reconstruction of the way we provide health care for low-income Ohioans is the only way to fix the problem.

Secondly, as long as the Ohio Supreme Court holds the purse strings for school funding the state budget will remain in crisis. The Court has extorted unreasonable and unsustainable education increases from the General Assembly. How can anyone justify the state spending almost $6,000 per year to educate a kindergarten student in a public school?

Finally, look at the number of state employees in Ohio. That number has remained almost the same the past three years. While businesses have had to downsize and lay off workers the size of the state bureaucracy remains the same. No one wants anyone to lose their job but the truth is, all of us outside the state bureaucracy are paying a price in a down economy. Should the Governor have the right to protect bureaucracy while forcing taxpayers to pay more?

David Zanotti
President, The Ohio Roundtable
Phone 440-572-1796