June 20, 2013

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IO Week In Review – February 10, 2013 Edition

February 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Feel out of the loop? Here is your chance to catch up on what we’re watching this week.

School Funding

The Kasich administration released the much anticipated district-by-district school funding amounts this week and our own Stephen Dyer’s reaction was less than enthusiastic.

However, reality has proven otherwise. Looking at Kasich’s own district-by-district runs released yesterday, poor districts actually fare worse than wealthy. According to administration figures, for every dollar going to a kid in the property richest school districts, just 25 cents goes to the property poorest districts.

Severance Tax 

On Monday, the Governor’s recommended operating budget was released. Included in the many tax changes were changes made to how the state wants to levy the severance tax that oil and gas developers pay. We commented that the administration was once again failing to put up a fight against big oil interests and allowing them to walk away with millions in tax savings.

Turnpike Plan

Hearings started this week on plans to borrow against future Turnpike tolls but it seems that promises originally made by the administration failed to make it into the legislation. Promises made to spend 90% of the revenue in northern Ohio and protect workers from lay-offs were no where to be found.

Earlier in the week Jenny Brodie weighed in and asked where exactly is the new Turnpike money going if it isn’t going to projects in northern Ohio?

Budget Review

Ron Sylvester put together a recap of Governor Kasich’s budget that was released on Monday and asked whether middle and low income Ohioans were being short changed by policy included in it.

Tax Reform

We highlighted a new Policy Matters Ohio report that showed that the tax proposals in the Governor’s budget will overwhelmingly favor wealthy Ohioans. The analysis showed that Ohioans in the top 1 percent of incomes would receive an annual tax cut of $10,369 while those in the bottom fifth would see a net tax increase of $63

School Levies

Intern Joey Crushham reviewed and previewed the most recent batch of school levies that voters weighed in on during last weeks special election. His analysis showed that half of school levies failed last week.

Don’t forget to ‘Like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute analysis and commentary.

Filed Under: Innovation Station Tagged With: , ,

Who is really served by latest Kasich budget?

February 6, 2013 By 4 Comments

served

If Gov. John Kasich’s latest two-year state budget proposal proves one thing, it is this: Most Ohioans don’t have a friend in Columbus.

If you’re a high income earner, the governor is on your side. If you’re a bigwig at a Big Oil & Gas firm, the governor is your humble servant. If you are a charter school cheat, looting public education – John Kasich is your wheelman.

If you’re looking for relief or a leveling of the playing field – you’re out of luck.

There are still bills to be dropped, hearings to be held and a months-long political process to watch and to participate in on Capitol Square. Innovation Ohio will be unpacking the issues below in greater detail in the coming days and weeks. The state budget is about taxing and spending, but it’s also a huge collection of public policy changes. It’s a document that can be forward looking and which offers a plan to put public money into to the public’s interest. What we’re seeing so far is ideological dogma, little that speaks to the future and lots of your money flowing in the wrong directions.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured Items, FY 2014-15 Budget, Innovation Station, Ohio State Budget Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Just Where is the New Turnpike Money Going?

February 5, 2013 By 2 Comments

Back in December Gov. John Kasich and ODOT Director Jerry Wray rolled out the results of the KPMG analysis and their plan for “unlocking the value” of the Ohio Turnpike.  As part of their plan, Kasich said that they would leverage Ohio Turnpike tolls to float bonds to finance highway construction projects throughout Ohio.

As part of this announcement, ODOT said, “more than 90 percent of new bond money will go directly to northern Ohio highway projects.”  KPMG, the consultants that Governor Kasich paid to carry out the analysis of turnpike, said  “virtually all Turnpike funds go to Northern Ohio.”

Even prior to the KPMG analysis, Kasich said  “’We’ll make the commitment that at least half the proceeds from a lease or bond would mean we put at least half the money on roads that are north of Route 30. We think that is a fair thing,’”

Sounds like a pretty solid promise to continue to dedicate Turnpike funds to Northern Ohio, right?

Not so fast. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic Development and Jobs, Innovation Station Tagged With: , , ,

More ‘new money’ levies on tap tomorrow in Ohio local schools special elections

February 4, 2013 By 2 Comments

Voters in nine Ohio counties will vote on local school levies tomorrow. All of the levies to be considered are requests for new money.

This seems to be the trend in the aftermath of Kasich’s $1.8 billion in cuts to school district funding. We have seen an unprecedented $1.1 billion in new property and income taxes for schools since Kasich’s last budget. On Tuesday, there will be 5 school districts asking for money to use on operating costs in 8 counties. There is also a levy on the ballot in Summit County, but it’s for construction projects so it’s not related to the schools who are struggling to maintain operation.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Innovation Station, November 2012 School Levies Tagged With: , , , ,

Buckle up, Ohio’s budget season starts next Monday.

January 31, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

It's bu-bu-bu-bu-budget time!

It’s bu-bu-bu-bu-budget time!

On Monday, Gov. John Kasich is set to unveil his two-year state budget plan. The plan will outline how the state will spend over $55 billion in state tax collections and federal grants.

In his first budget, released in 2011, Kasich notably opted to shift the burden of paying for government to local taxpayers by preserving spending at most state agencies while drastically cutting revenue shared with local governments and schools. With a modest economic recovery underway, the 2014-2015 state budget will not be about allocating cuts, but instead is expected to see revenue gains. The big question for Monday will be whether Kasich restores those earlier cuts to provide property tax relief at the local level or instead uses increasing tax revenue to fund the gradual elimination of Ohio’s income tax – which, being based on an individual’s ability to pay, is our most progressive tax. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, FY 2014-15 Budget, Innovation Station Tagged With: , ,

Kasich, PUCO have lost their way when it comes to Ohio consumers, businesses

January 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

In Gov. John Kasich’s first budget, he slashed the Ohio Consumer’s Counsel in half, laying off 30 employees and severely injuring the agency from fully representing 4.5 million Ohioans against the well-financed utilities. When the top consumer cop asked to meet with the Governor to explain how this would hurt the average person, he refused.

Kasich has since appointed Todd Snitchler to run the PUCO. Snitchler is a former politician with no significant background in public utilities. Snitchler recently gained national attention for using his Twitter account to negatively portray the renewable energy industry and climate science.

But it is not the tweeting that should concern Ohioans. Kasich’s appointees at the PUCO are getting a reputation as not adequately protecting the interests of consumers and businesses, siding all too often with powerful special interests like FirstEnergy.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovation Station Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Republican governors pushing radical tax reforms that could be at Ohio’s doorstep soon

January 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

In Washington, President Obama and Congressional Democrats secured a historic fiscal victory in early January.  By finally passing legislation that asked the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes, lawmakers moved one step closer to securing our nation’s fiscal health.

At the state level though, Republican Governors from around the country are pushing for tax reforms that would do the exact opposite. These governors want to see income taxes reduced or eliminated while raising other more regressive taxes that harm low- and middle-income taxpayers.  These pieces of legislation are taken straight from the radical conservative playbook in an effort to transfer the burden of paying for public services from the wealthiest to the less well off. The Republican argument is that if a state lowers their income tax rate it will become more competitive in the eye of businesses who may want to relocate there or to help attract high-skilled workers.

For example, according to a recent New York Times article, Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback introduced legislation to phase out the state’s income tax by cutting services and keeping in place what was meant to be a temporary increase in the state’s sales tax. Republican lawmakers in Kansas said that individuals were leaving the state to move to states that do not have income taxes and that this legislation would make them more competitive.

In reality, recent evidence points to the fact that there is no correlation between a state income tax rate and economic growth. What is worse is that these policies are simply another gift to the rich at the expense of low- and middle-income workers.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic Development and Jobs, FY 2014-15 Budget, Innovation Station Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Husted: “No one in Ohio is advocating this” on GOP Electoral College rigging scheme

January 29, 2013 By 1 Comment

hustedmugBravo to the Plain Dealer for getting the big four in Ohio elections law and policy on the record regarding national GOP attempts to rig the Electoral College.

The Plain Dealer reports  that Gov. John Kasich, House Speaker Bill Batchelder and Senate President Keith Faber have all said through spokespeople that there are no plans for Ohio Republicans to join their compatriots in states like Virginia and Pennsylvania to change how Electoral College votes are tallied.

We posted earlier this week about Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted floating the idea at a post-election lobbying confab in Columbus that winner takes all Electoral College vote tallying in Ohio would solve some of (his) perceived problems. (Perhaps like President Barack Obama winning the state.) To Husted’s credit, he says the remarks were taken out of context and said this today to the Plain Dealer:

“Nobody in Ohio is advocating this,” Husted said in a telephone interview.

Let’s hope this is the case and that Democrats and Independents in Ohio aren’t futher insulted and taken advantage of by extending gerrymandering to the Electoral College.

Filed Under: Fair and Open Elections, Innovation Station Tagged With: , , , , ,

News Release: Kasich Budget Cuts = $1 Billion in School Levies

January 29, 2013 By 7 Comments

For Immediate Release: January 29, 2013
Contact: Dale Butland, 614-783-5833

Kasich Budget Cuts = $1.1 Billion in School Levies
IO Blows Whistle on “Kasich Shell Game”

Columbus – Innovation Ohio, a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus, released an analysis today proving what Kasich Administration critics have long suspected: the Governor has merely shifted the responsibility for adequately funding Ohio schools from the state to the local level.

Specifically, IO’s analysis finds that since May, 2011, a record-breaking $1.1 billion in local property and income tax levies earmarked for schools has appeared on local ballots. Voters approved just 40% – or $487 million – leaving numerous school districts across the state scrambling to maintain needed academic programs and staffing levels.

IO stressed that the $1.1 billion figure includes only new operating money, not renewal or replacement levies or money for capital projects.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Innovation Station, Ohio State Budget, Press Releases Tagged With: , , ,

Paying for Ohio income tax cut with revenue from gas patch looking sketchy

January 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

wellhead2Oil and gas development in Ohio is once again going to be a major policy issue in 2013 and Gov. John Kasich intends to push for an increased severance tax on horizontal drilling in Ohio to help pay for a $500 million income tax cut.

While it’s true that the oil and gas industry is growing in Ohio at this time, is it possible that the administration is being overly optimistic in its projection of how many producing wells there will be in the near future? Proper forecasting of wells and production estimates are essential because the production from these new oil and gas wells will pay for Kasich’s income tax cut.  That’s why Innovation Ohio was interested in seeing how close the Kasich administration well estimates were to reality in 2012.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic Development and Jobs, Innovation Station Tagged With: , , , , ,
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