Did you feel a rumbling last Thursday? The earth shook as Ohio’s budget – spending cuts! lower taxes! – was signed into law.
Earth, as seen from Policy Matters Ohio HQOn the bright side, the Kasich budget’s disastrous final passage gave Ohio leftists an opportunity to talk about what they hate most: tax cuts. Unlike The Columbus Dispatch, where political bias varies by writer, topic, and day of the week, The New York Times gave predictable support to big-government advocates:
Mr. Kasich said at the news conference that the budget restored fiscal responsibility to Ohio by closing an $8 billion budget gap. But his opponents argue that it accomplished that through deep cuts in spending on schools and local governments, which will be hard pressed to make up the difference. It also repeals the estate tax in 2013, which applies to the most affluent Ohioans and is another important revenue source for local governments.
Forget for a second how much a free citizen ought to despise “the most affluent,” and remember what the estate tax is. Dare to make more money than Progressives think your loved ones deserve, and the government takes a portion of your wealth when you die – even if you paid taxes on wages and paid taxes again when those wages earned you investment income. This sounds bad; is there no one brave enough to defend triple-taxation in the interest of more government spending?!
“There are clear winners and losers in this budget,” said Wendy Patton, senior associate at Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal economic research group in Columbus. “Wealthy families and businesses benefit. School kids and communities don’t.”
Policy Matters Ohio, reliable champions of class warfare, released a study in June about why death taxes on the rich are so important. Synopsis: leftists know best how Ohioans’ money should be spent.
The Times also quoted Senator Seitz, one of several Ohio GOP figures who often votes with the Evil Conservative block but rarely misses a chance to undermine conservative policies:
“It’s easy to spend other people’s money, and that is essentially what this budget does,” he said. “Local governments will likely be in a position to ask voters for additional resources. It’s pay me now or pay me later.”
Actually it’s “pay the state so Columbus bean-counters can shovel money to local governments as they see fit, or pay your local government as local voters see fit.” Plus, what government budget in the history of government hasn’t spent other people’s money?
Seitz, like self-proclaimed moderate Republicans throughout Ohio and the nation, puts the “central government” in “centrist.” Sadly for the well-funded heroes at Policy Matters Ohio, Progress Ohio, Innovation Ohio, and all the other leftist institutions that would see more power in the hands of bureaucrats, Seitz voted for the budget when it counted. He’ll share the blame when Ohio goes belly-up without an omnipotent government leading the way!
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Cross-posted at that hero.
When I am not hacked off at Liberals, I am amused by their thought process. The fact that any lost revenue will be offset (at a minimum) by more jobs being created in Ohio, and more jobs staying in Ohio. Libetards like to attack the avoidance of taxes. Two words: Howard Metzenbaum. He died in his FL home, hoping to preserve his wealth for future liberals.
ReplyDeleteIm not sure if cutting taxes is the answer when facing a budget deficit, but hey, the status quo wasnt working either, so why not?
ReplyDeleteCalifornia is the opposite of Ohio and it's shows: http://blog.american.com/2011/07/companies-are-leaving-california-in-record-numbers-and-it-might-get-worse/
ReplyDeleteThere was no $8 billion gap, even Kasich's own OBM director has admitted that. Quit praising Kasich for something he didn't do.
ReplyDeleteThe estate tax isn't triple taxation any more than saying that taxing wages earned from money from sales is double taxation.
Name me another instance in which wealth (cash, securities, real estate) passes hands that isn't taxed but now the estate tax. The reality is that only 7% of estates in Ohio triggered any estate tax. Responsible business succession planning made even the wealthiest of Ohioans able to legally avoid the estate tax.
But note that like other tax cuts this budget creates, it only take effect right before this budget expires. Why? So Kasich didn't have to pay for the loss of revenue by additional cuts in spending. He kicked dealing with the loss of revenue down the road like a tin can, creating a structural deficit.
Tax cuts never pay for themselves because the loss of revenues by cutting a tax rate is never equalled by the increase in revenues by the stimulative effect. See, Ohio 2005-2011.
ReplyDeleteNumber of jobs this budget is projected to create over two years? -50,000.
The Administration and its allies have never made any projection that this budget would create more jobs. In fact, it demands that tens of thousands of jobs be cut.
MJL- "Im not sure if cutting taxes is the answer when facing a budget deficit, but hey, the status quo wasnt working either, so why not?"
ReplyDeleteWe've been cutting taxes in Ohio since 2005. That IS the status quo.