Ohio Needs $8 Billion -- Brother Can You Spare A Dime?

[Revere]

Is anyone really sitting in jail in Ohio for marijuana or prostitution? Usually there is something else that they have done--SELLING drugs, or theft, or assault, etc. I don't think the state is going broke because of marijuana users.

Anyway, in Maryland this past election, the past governor, Erhlich, was trying again to defeat the current governor, O'Malley. Ehrlich ran on the idea that he didn't raise taxes. Many people pointed out that although he didn't raise taxes, he did raise fees. So this is probably how these republicans in Ohio will handle it. Raise the fees on drivers licenses, contractor licenses, building permits, hunting, fishing permits, marriage licenses--there's a whole slew of "fees" they can raise and then sashay around and claim they didn't raise taxes!

Maryland is a suburb of DC. I put them in the same bucket of "fucked up beyond all recognition" as New York and California.

Now you got a guy who will raise fees AND taxes.

Happy?

Yes I am! Ehrlich and his loud mouthed wife were a nightmare for the state. They were two unpleasant people. I would rather keep the higher sales tax than have to put up with those two jerks. He can take his patent leather hair, spray tan, and crawl back under his rock.

You have the luxury of doing it, because your economy is little more than a parasite of the Federal government.

 

[shintao]

And I mean "all" pensions -- Police, Fire, Teacher -- every employee should feel the pain.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

Why don't Ohio take out a loan until things get better? You get what you pay for. What was that state where the firemen watched the house burn down? When your police are only working 4 days a week, don't expect arrests, investigations, patrols, etc. I can tell you what the 911 operator tells you,................."there is no one here until tuesday to take your call." LOL, yep, that be true.....

 

[Charles_Main]

What the heck are they paying for that requires $8 billion dollars they don't have?

If I had to guess. Medicare/Caid Obligations, Pensions, and Government worker Salaries and Benefits.

Looks like you are correct.

At what point do we admit the politicians lied to everyone and there is no money for these things?

The Vast Majority of Politicians will never admit that.

 

[uscitizen]

If Ohio had just kept investing in collectable coins....

it begins.
and is is not going to be fun.
The stimulus money kept them going this long, but no more stimulus.

 

[Revere]

I see Ohio turning back to blue in approximately 730 days, give or take.

Because the voters will perfer unsustainable spending levels?

Because everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

Only public employee unionists and those on their pensions are in heaven.

 

[Avatar4321]

Where are all the Righties saying that Ohio can go to hell?

Recommending sane policy to bring it out of hell, like I would any other state or person.

 

[Avatar4321]

If I had to guess. Medicare/Caid Obligations, Pensions, and Government worker Salaries and Benefits.

Looks like you are correct.

At what point do we admit the politicians lied to everyone and there is no money for these things?

The Vast Majority of Politicians will never admit that.

Well I do. Course, I'm only marginally a politician.

I seriously confuse myself. A lawyer and politician who makes sense and wants honest people in government.

 

[Avatar4321]

I see Ohio turning back to blue in approximately 730 days, give or take.

Because the voters will perfer unsustainable spending levels?

Because everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

So we should all burn in hell instead?

 

[Madeline]

Where are all the Righties saying that Ohio can go to hell?

Here's one. We are facing a desperate situation here and Ohio is in far better shape than many other states. The continued criminalization of tolerable but objectionable behavior is a luxury this state cannot afford. The support of retired state employees at taxpayers' expense at or around the same income and benefit level they enjoyed as employees is another luxury we cannot afford.

 

[The Rabbi]

So my question is: This situation didn't crop up in the last week. It has been building for some time. Why didn't the paper or whatever is quoted here run this story BEFORE the election? WHy did they wait until after, when the Republican candidate was elected, to run a story about how he will either have to raise taxes, showing him to be a hypocrite, or let the state go bankrupt, or lay off firemen, police, and teachers (the usual plaint--it isn't true)?

 

[The Rabbi]

Where are all the Righties saying that Ohio can go to hell?

Ohio can go to hell.
Assuming they come asking for a bailout. But with a GOP governor, that won't happen. He will cut spending ala Chris Christie. And then the Dums can all piss and moan about how he's gutting healthcare and little children will die on the street because gov't employee union thugs will have to forgo their European vacation this year.

 

[Madeline]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With Gov.-elect John Kasich and soon-to-be House Speaker Bill Batchelder rising to power in January, a no-new-taxes pledge signed by both suddenly has huge implications for the next state budget.

The pledge requires signers to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to raise taxes." It was signed by Kasich, Batchelder and at least 21 other Republicans beginning new terms in the Ohio House in January, including Rep. Tim Grendell, the state senator from Chester Township who will jump chambers because of term limits.

The pledge, created by the group Americans for Tax Reform, became a virtual must-sign for Republicans running for Congress across America.

But down at the Ohio Statehouse -- where Kasich and GOP legislative leaders will hammer out a plan to address a shortfall in the next state budget that could approach $8 billion -- the pledge could have the most profound implications.

Unlike the federal budget, the state budget must be in balance when the two-year spending blueprint is passed next summer. So taking tax hikes completely off the table limits the options available to policy makers.

"He's not going to increase the tax burden on Ohioans, period," said Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols.

However, that doesn't mean that Kasich couldn't eliminate some loopholes in the state tax code that give exemptions to special interests. For example, financial planners and lobbyists are exempt from paying state sales tax.

Under the terms of the pledge, Kasich could eliminate some of the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax exemptions in the state tax code -- but there's a big catch. He would have to offset those moves with tax cuts, so he wouldn't gain a cent of new revenue.

"John said throughout the campaign that everything is under the microscope," Nichols said.

Anti-tax pledges add intrigue to upcoming Ohio budget process | cleveland.com

Ohio is in the middle of a two-year budget cycle. The governor signed the FY2010-11 state budget, which included general fund spending of $25.9 billion over the two years,[1] on July 17, 2009.[2] The state finished the first year of the current budget cycle on June 30, 2010, in the black. However, many sources, both inside and outside the state government, project a structural budget shortfall that could exceed $8 billion for the next two-year budget that would start on July 1, 2011.[3] The current budget utilizes $8.4 billion of one-time funds.[4]

Function FY2010 FY2011 Total Educat...,676,487,088 $56,624,750,411 $112,301,237,498

Ohio state budget - Sunshine Review

(Believe me, I have tried hard to google the different types and amounts of State of Ohio revenues without success....if you know of a web site that has this data, please advise.)

So what has been suggested? Increasing fees on Ohioans for such things as hunting licenses. But enough to generate $8 Billion? We'd have to have fees so high, only a millionaire could afford to pay them.

My idea is, go through the criminal code and decriminalize whatever behavior this state's residents can tolerate. Such things as marijuana and prostitution (I would create a new crime regarding creating an unsafe condition in one's neighborhood, but failing this new standard applying, the behaviors should be legal.) As to each such behavior newly decriminalized, release from custody or probation and parole any resident who was charged under that former crime and automatically expunge their record. This state spent $49,530,928,235 on Justice and Public Protection in the last billing cycle; it seems likely and/or possible that a wide-ranging decriminalization plan would be able to shave 16% off that amount. In this same vein, eliminate the death penalty and associated costs will fall considerably, as LWOP is much less expensive.

Your thoughts?

Is anyone really sitting in jail in Ohio for marijuana or prostitution? Usually there is something else that they have done--SELLING drugs, or theft, or assault, etc. I don't think the state is going broke because of marijuana users.

Anyway, in Maryland this past election, the past governor, Erhlich, was trying again to defeat the current governor, O'Malley. Ehrlich ran on the idea that he didn't raise taxes. Many people pointed out that although he didn't raise taxes, he did raise fees. So this is probably how these republicans in Ohio will handle it. Raise the fees on drivers licenses, contractor licenses, building permits, hunting, fishing permits, marriage licenses--there's a whole slew of "fees" they can raise and then sashay around and claim they didn't raise taxes!

Yes, people are in prison for possession of marijuana. Not sure if the state actually has prostitution prisoners, although doubtless county jails do (you don't do state prison time unless you've been sentenced to serve more than one year.) But you raise an interesting point. IMO, we should decriminalize sales and possession with intent to sell using the same standard as I suggested, which is if you create a disruption to your neighborhood, THAT disruption is a criminal act.

 

[Revere]

Sorry, the lefties would turn the pot heads loose, but not cut the pensions.

 

[uscitizen]

Does the state cut medical benefits for retirees when they qualify for medicare like most corps do that still offer retiree health benefits?

 

[shintao]

Because the voters will perfer unsustainable spending levels?

Because everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

Only public employee unionists and those on their pensions are in heaven.

Yeah, some people are smarter than the common everyday laidback redneck, and actually believe that work owes them a living wage.

 

[shintao]

[ IMO, we should decriminalize sales and possession with intent to sell using the same standard as I suggested, which is if you create a disruption to your neighborhood, THAT disruption is a criminal act.

How about, if you have done the studies to prove you need a law, whatever law, you make sure you can fund the law from everything from the arrest to the parole. After all, the only thing that makes a crime, is writing a law.

 

[Madeline]

And I mean "all" pensions -- Police, Fire, Teacher -- every employee should feel the pain.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

Why don't Ohio take out a loan until things get better? You get what you pay for. What was that state where the firemen watched the house burn down? When your police are only working 4 days a week, don't expect arrests, investigations, patrols, etc. I can tell you what the 911 operator tells you,................."there is no one here until tuesday to take your call." LOL, yep, that be true.....

No, the house that burned in front of firemen was in Tennessee. A state "borrows" by issuing debt instruments, on which it owes interest and eventually principal. That is hardly a solution. The state's law enforcement is the state troopers etc. and those guys rarely respond to a 911 call other than a rural freeway traffic accident.

 

[Revere]

Because everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

Only public employee unionists and those on their pensions are in heaven.

Yeah, some people are smarter than the common everyday laidback redneck, and actually believe that work owes them a living wage.

You just show up at the state office building, push a pencil, and you're owed something?

 

[Madeline]

If I had to guess. Medicare/Caid Obligations, Pensions, and Government worker Salaries and Benefits.

Looks like you are correct.

At what point do we admit the politicians lied to everyone and there is no money for these things?

The Vast Majority of Politicians will never admit that.

The Big Lie in Ohio is how badly underfunded the pensions are. I'd be willing to bet this has been going on for decades and to bring them current without altering the benefits owed would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. California and Illinois are at crisis point on this issue and other states are cliff-hanging.

The day of reckoning is coming.

 

[Madeline]

If Ohio had just kept investing in collectable coins....

it begins.
and is is not going to be fun.
The stimulus money kept them going this long, but no more stimulus.

Last year's "donation" from the feds via stimulus money was about $1 Billion. You ask why we did not get jobs from this? Because our legislature plowed the money into the General Revenue Fund to avoid slashing the state budget -- a move that should have been illegal, but apparently was not.

I suspect the same thing happened in damned near every state -- no jobs created by stimulus because the state misspent the cash.