Featured Article

The Impact of Federal Spending on Ohio

Federal government spending comes with costs; it should not be accepted as the free-lunch it is frequently considered to be. Every dollar the government spends must first be removed from the pocket of the private sector - through higher taxes today, or higher borrowing today implying higher taxes tomorrow. Either way, government spending crowds out private sector spending, diminishing the private economy's rate of growth. In other words, increased government spending makes citizens poorer because it takes their money now while reducing their future income.

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Read the full report, "The Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: An Ohio Perspective"

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BuckeyeVoices

In this week's BuckeyeVoices, Buckeye Institute President David Hansen talks with Rep. Seth Morgan about his lawsuit against Governor Ted Strickland to force him to turn over public documents related to the governor's "evidence-based" education plan.

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New at the Buckeye Institute

Just weeks after the federal government approved the largest emergency stimulus bill in US history, economists are saying it will actually damage the economy -- hitting Ohio especially hard with major job losses.

The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions in cooperation with Arduin, Laffer, & Moore Econometrics and Americans for Prosperity Ohio today released "The Economic Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: An Ohio Perspective." This study illustrates the damaging effects higher federal spending has on the nation's economy and estimates that an additional 91,200 jobs could be lost in Ohio as a result of the federal "stimulus" bill.

The press conference to release the report was held in Warren County, which has rejected a portion of the stimulus funds.

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Featured Event

Buckeye Institute Panel Discussion On a Newly-Released Book

No Crime But Prejudice: Fischer Homes, the Immigration Fiasco and Extra-Judicial Prosecution



By Jon Entine
Visiting Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Columbus
8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast Reception begins at 7:30 a.m.
The Athletic Club of Columbus Lounge, 136 East Broad Street

Cincinnati
4:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Registration and Hors D'oeuvre Reception begins at 4:00 p.m.
The Westin Hotel Taft Room, 21 East Fifth Street

Visit here for more information.

This event will be complimentary, but space will be limited. Please contact Lauren Kresge at 614.859.3798 or email her at lkresge@buckeyeinstitute.org with questions regarding this upcoming event.

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A High Cost for the "Stimulus"

NBC 4 reports, "In response to opposition, Strickland had this to say, 'The federal stimulus money is one time money, because it's one-time money. We can either use it to benefit Ohio, or we can refuse to accept it. And, I don't hear any of my detractors--maybe one--indicating that they'd refuse the federal money.'"

In The Economic Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: An Ohio Perspective, the study's authors note, "the costs of accepting federal dollars from the [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009] (ARRA) will be a long-term drain on the private sector. The ARRA will increase the government expenditure wedge from 49.16% to 52.41% for an overall 3.25% increase. This increase will reduce the growth in real net business output by 2.5%, which translates to a reduction of 1.7 million jobs nationally - of which between 66,400 and 91,200 jobs will be lost in Ohio."

Covering up the Deficit

The

Cincinnati Business Courier reports, "By a 53-46 margin, House Democrats passed a bill that would boost total state spending to more than $114 billion across fiscal years 2010 and 2011, a $10 billion increase over the current two-year budget amount. All 53 Democrats voted for the budget plan, while every Republican voted against it. A number of Republican members slammed the spending plan, criticizing its dependence on one-time monies such as federal stimulus funding, higher fees for state services and accounting moves that include deferring payments on state debt."

In A Stimulus Aimed at 2010, Buckeye Institute analyst Marc Kilmer writes, "While this [stimulus] spending won't assist the economy, it will help Governor Strickland and other politicians around Ohio and the nation. Instead of showing leadership and addressing the state's $7 billion deficit, the governor can use federal money to paper over the harm caused by his bad budgeting. Local officials can do the same while also announcing funding for a slew of new goodies."

The Path to a Real Stimulus

The Tiffin Advertiser Tribune quotes Governor Strickland as saying, "Just like families who are prioritizing limited resources, we are living within our means by focusing state investments to those issues that will have the greatest impact on our current and future economic growth."

In Governor's New Deal a Raw Deal, Buckeye Institute senior fellow Sam Staley writes, "Restoring Ohio's economic vitality will be difficult under the best of circumstances. But the solution is not in having state government pick winners and losers by rewarding favored, politically correct businesses over others not on their political radar screen. On the contrary, the key will be in creating a policy environment where broad-based entrepreneurship and business investment is welcomed and nurtured."

Buckeye Institute in the News

The Cincinnati Business Courier and the Middletown Journal reported on the Buckeye Institute's news conference releasing "The Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: An Ohio Perspective"

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Weekly News Digest Archive