BuckeyeBlog

The Ohio Senate passed up a major opportunity to stand up for fiscal responsibility when it approved the state transportation bill yesterday. Instead of stripping out the governor’s plan to fund a passenger rail system in the state, the GOP-controlled body merely made it slightly more difficult for that plan to be implemented. For a party that talks about being good stewards of the taxpayer money and which has condemned the governor for his irresponsible spending proposals, the Republican members of the Senate  failed to back up their talk with any action.

Passenger rail is slated to cost taxpayers $250 million to establish it and then $10 million a year in subsidies. Given the unpopularity of passenger rail in most areas of the nation and the high costs imposed on taxpayers by other systems, I’d be willing to bet the actual cost of the rail system will far exceed these figures. Passenger rail may be great in theory but when people actually have to make a choice to put down spend their money to ride it, people generally choose to drive. This is an unneeded project for Ohio and will be a burden on taxpayers for years to come.

The Senate does deserve some credit by changing the way this passenger rail system would be created. The governor wanted its final approval to be made by the Controlling Board (an unelected body with a Democratic majority). The Senate’s bill says that the General Assembly must approve its creation instead. That’s a small step in the right direction.

Although the Republican Senators failed miserably to protect the taxpayer on this bill, they deserve some credit for stopping the governor’s plans to infringe upon your liberty. They removed a provisions backed by the governor and House that would have allowed speed cameras in construction zones and that would have given police authority to stop motorists who are not wearing their seatbelts. Both those moves should be applauded by Ohioans who value their freedom.

Last week the Ohio House approved Governor Strickland’s transportation budget. There are a lot of problems with this budget. For one, it spends too much. I find it hard to believe we need to be spending $7.6 billion on transportation “needs” when the state is facing such dire fiscal problems. This is exemplified by the governor’s push for reintroduction of passenger rail in the state, which is a dream for social planners but which will drain taxpayer money for years to come. Aside from fiscal issues, there are also policy implications from this bill. Its provisions to allow speed cameras and give police power to stop motorists because they aren’t wearing their seat belts will mean a loss of liberty for Ohioans.

(more…)