BuckeyeBlog

Remember when they made fun of Ken Blackwell’s proposal to privatize the Ohio Turnpike?

Pennsylvania just raked in nearly $13 billion for its turnpike. Ohio probably wouldn’t bring as much, being a bit removed from the east coast, but then again, there’s quite a little bit of transport comin’ through the heartland.

What do you suppose, say, $8 billion or even $10 billion would do for the Ohio capital budget? Heck, let’s make it $4 billion. Think of all the Third Frontier money we could give to private companies!

The latest “stimulus” plan from the Strickland Administration proposed taking ‘excess revenues’ (oh, what wonderful doublespeak!) from the Turnpike and spending on things like historical building renovation and corporate welfare enticements to Ohio businesses to hire more interns.

We’ve written about leasing the Turnpike (here and here) the $6 billion of dollars it could put into the Ohio economy stimulating growth though both direct expecture flows but also through the windfall of true infrastructure investments.

Instead of paying interest on bonds, the state would be collecting interest from a private Turnpike operator.

Now that’s a better idea!

In the Chillicothe Gazette, State Senator John Carey notes:

Medicaid - a state-federal entitlement program designed to provide health care for low-income and medically vulnerable individuals - has been growing at an alarming rate. In fact, between 2006 and 2007, almost 38 percent of Ohio’s two-year budget was dedicated to the program.

While it is hard to deny the important role Medicaid plays in caring for Ohioans in need, we must work to rein in costs or be forced to reduce or cut other needed services. Unfortunately, the cost of the program is already having an impact on other areas of the budget.

Medicaid loads are higher than anticipated, contributing to Ohio’s tight fiscal situation. As a result, the governor has proposed cuts to other programs, such as PASSPORT and state parks, to help cover these unexpected Medicaid costs. The governor has also had to halt proposed expansions to some areas of Medicaid to keep the problem from worsening.

Through the passage of House Bill 66 in the 126th General Assembly, the Legislature enacted several reforms to Medicaid in an effort to slow the growth of the program, while maintaining essential services. This effort must continue.

Perhaps the first step that should be taken is to prevent the Governor from trying to expand eligibility in the program. If it’s already too expensive, it makes no sense to increase spending.

As far as reforms go, I’d urge Sen. Carey and his colleagues to read the Buckeye Institute report Reforming Medicaid In Ohio: A Framework for Using Consumer Choice and Competition to Spur Improved Outcomes. It has some good ideas on how to restructure Ohio’s Medicaid program to both better serve recipients as well as relieve the burden on taxpayers.

Here’s some insights into Governor Strickland’s plan to grow government spending today, while sticking the bill on our children and grandchildren tomorrow:

A Viewpoint by Sam Staley just released;

A couple of podcasts from BuckeyeVoices.org, one where Sam discusses his analysis and another where I give my initial reaction to the proposal;

Finally, my recent debate with a big government advocate on public TV will be posted here shortly.