Democrat Plan For Budget Disaster

Why do something now when you can put it off until later?

In addition to this being my preferred way of studying in college it's also the style of governing that House Democrats proposed yesterday.

Jim Siegel outlined their plan in an article in yesterday’s Dispatch.  Basically, the plan is to spend $400 million on schools and local communities through surplus tax revenue, rainy day funds and via the Governor’s income tax proposal.

Sound familiar?

This governing style is exactly what Ted Strickland did it for 4 years and was a total disaster.  Kicking the can down the road is exactly what got us into the $8 billion deficit mess that Governor Kasich was dealt when he took office.

How can someone, with a straight face, actually say that this type of funding works?  Obviously it addresses issues in the short term, but it is devastating in the long-term. 

The ridiculous part is the same people who propose this type of irresponsible spending  have Governor Kasich to thank for giving them an opportunity to make their proposal in the first place.  For years House Democrats and Governor Strickland applied little patches to budget holes instead of actually fixing them.  When Governor Kasich took office he was forced to deal with their irresponsible patches and was promptly attacked for it.

Instead of kicking the can down the road how about a long-term solution?  I know it’s crazy, but instead of letting our kids deal with our excess spending maybe it’s time to make tough decisions and leave this state a little better than how we found it.  It doesn't always register with some people, but spending more isn’t always the answer.  Furthermore, more money doesn’t always mean higher quality.

Republicans tried, through government union reform, to make big decisions and get us out of the hole.  While plenty disagreed with the unsuccessful attempt at reform, it’s hard to say that things are fine and that the status quo should remain. 

Maybe, instead of coming up with shortsighted plans, it’s time for those who disagreed last November to step up with real long-term ideas.  These should be ideas that fix, not patch, and don’t include needless spending.

With their proposal, House Democrats are saying that Ohio should go back to the old way of doing business.

It didn’t work last time and won’t work now.