Media Releases
Former Columbus Mayor and Cincinnati Philanthropist Join Board of Trustees
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions today announced the election of former Columbus Mayor and Nationwide Insurance senior executive Gregory B. Lashutka and the Lovett and Ruth Peters Foundation President Daniel S. Peters to the Buckeye Institute Board of Trustees. Lashutka...
Buckeye Institute Names New President
The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions today announced the appointment of nationally respected conservative fiscal policy advocate Matt Mayer as its new president. Mayer is an author, former attorney and university professor, and an experienced public policy implementer.
1851 Center Files Challenge to Ohio Smoking Ban and Seizure of Tavern
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law yesterday filed a legal action challenging the constitutionality and enforcement of the Ohio smoking ban. Filed on behalf of the Columbus tavern Zeno's, the action also seeks an injunction to prevent the Ohio Attorney General...
Buckeye Institute Sample Language Used for Estate Tax Repeal
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center drafted language for an initiated statute amendment to eliminate Ohio's estate tax that was adopted by Citizens United to End Ohio's Estate Tax. On Friday the Attorney General approved the language for the group to begin collecting the signatures...
1851 Center Joins in Filing Amicus in Free Speech Case
The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law Monday joined in filing an amicus brief in SpeechNow.org v. FEC with the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
1851 Center Files Amicus In Supreme Court Slots Case
The 1851 Center Friday filed an amicus brief in LetOhioVote.org v. Brunner with the Ohio Supreme Court. The legal center's filing supports a public vote on video slot machines at Ohio horse race tracks.
News Release: High-Speed Rail a Waste of Money, Says Report
COLUMBUS - The Obama Administration's proposed high-speed rail plan will cost $1,000 for every federal income taxpayer, yet the average American will ride high-speed trains less than 60 miles a year, says a new report from the Buckeye Institute. The report estimates that the average Ohio resident will take a round trip on high-speed trains only once every 19 years.
Estate Tax is Killing 58,000 Ohio Jobs Study Says
COLUMBUS - Ohio could add 58,363 new jobs at no cost to taxpayers if the federal estate tax were repealed, according to a new analysis by the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions.
Buckeye Institute Moves to Stop City of Cincinnati from Harassment of Trolley Petitioners
By Maurice Thompson, posted May 22, 2009
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, today filed, in Federal Court, a motion to restrain the City of Cincinnati...
Buckeye Institute Challenges Magistrate Recommendations in Voting Rights Case Against ACORN
By Maurice Thompson, posted May 18, 2009
The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, Friday filed objections to a federal Magistrate's conclusion...
Buckeye Institute: Accepting "stimulus" funds will hurt Ohio
COLUMBUS -- Just weeks after the federal government approved the largest emergency spending bill in U.S. history, local and state governments are struggling with decisions about which projects to fund. Making public officials think twice are some of the nation's top economists saying it will...
Buckeye Institute Releases Ohio's Contract for the Future
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions today released "Ohio's Contract for the Future: Teacher Union Collective Bargaining Reform in Dayton and Columbus" by Dr. Gary Roberts and Marc Kilmer. In this study, the authors provide recommendations for how to improve accountability...
1851 Center Advises House Committee Modifying Mortgage Contracts Unconstitutional
The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law today advised members of an Ohio House committee that passage of HB 3, the "Home Foreclosure Prevention Act," would violate the Ohio Constitution, raise interest rates on home loans, and be the subject of a legal challenge.
Buckeye Institute and CAGW Release 2009 Ohio Piglet Book
Today in the Crypt of the Ohio Statehouse, the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions and the nation's premiere national taxpayer watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released the 2009 Ohio Piglet Book: The Book Ohio's Government Doesn't Want You To Read. Buckeye...
Buckeye Institute Study Chronicles the High Cost of High School Dropouts
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute today released a study chronicling the negative impact high school dropouts have on government services and social welfare programs. Report author Matthew Carr found that individual consequences of not completing high school result in increased...
Buckeye Institute Critiques Board of Regents Plan; Examines Higher Education Vouchers
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute today released two studies regarding the state's higher education system. Both studies address the ongoing debate over higher education accessibility, cost and accountability. One study specifically focuses on recommendations made in the Ohio Board of...
Buckeye Institute Releases State Employee Salary Database
The Buckeye Institute's Center for Transparent and Accountable Government today released an online database of State of Ohio employee salaries.
Proposed Toledo Community Schools Regulation Violates Ohio Constitution
The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law today notified the City of Toledo Plan Commission that its proposed Minimum School Facility Requirements (MSFR) zoning regulation violates the Ohio Constitution. If approved, the Institute's legal center will pursue legal action against the city.
Ohio State University Pays 154 Employees More Than $250,000 a Year
The Buckeye Institute's Center for Transparent and Accountable Government today released an online database of Ohio State University employees earning more than $250,000 a year.
Raid on Family's Home and Organic Food Co-Op Challenged
Columbus - The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law today took legal action against the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Lorain County Health Department for violating the constitutional rights of John and Jacqueline Stowers of LaGrange, Ohio. The Stowers operate an...
Parental Choice and High Quality Education Can Go Together
COLUMBUS - Adoption of a student-centered school funding system will ensure all children across Ohio have the same educational opportunities, according to a report issued today by the Buckeye Institute. Such a system will make the differences in local resources for education funding...
Buckeye Institute's Fight for an Uncorrupted Vote: Miller v. ACORN
By David Hansen, posted November 18, 2008
On October 14, the Buckeye Institute filed a state RICO action against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on behalf of two Warren County voters.
Public Charter Schools Help Students and Save Tax Dollars
Columbus - The Buckeye Institute today released a study showing public charter schools provide a great value to Ohio's K-12 education system. Report co-authors Matthew Carr and Beth Lear found closing existing public charter schools will result in reduced per pupil spending levels in each...
Buckeye Institute Debunks Nines Myths About Payday Lending
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute today released a report debunking nine common myths regarding payday lending. These myths have received considerable attention during the debate over State Issue 5. Report authors Dr. Tom Lehman and Marc Kilmer examine many popular criticisms...
Report: Ohio Taxpayers Could Forfeit $1 Billion with Passage of State Issue 6
Columbus - A report issued today by the Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, found that Ohio taxpayers could forfeit nearly $1 billion in lost revenue with the passage of the casino gambling ballot amendment, State Issue 6. Report author and Buckeye Institute Adjunct Scholar Jeffrey Hooke called State Issue 6 "a $1 billion giveaway to wealthy individuals."
Buckeye Institute Files State Rico Action Against ACORN
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, today filed a state RICO action against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on behalf of two Warren County voters. The action filed in Warren County Court of Common Pleas alleges ACORN has engaged...
Candidates Urged To Commit To Transparency If Elected
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute's Center for Transparent and Accountable Government (CTAG) has delivered its Pledge for Transparency and Openness in Government to more than 1,400 candidates for federal, state and local offices in Ohio. The pledge asks candidates to acknowledge the...
News Release: Phasing Out Ohio's Income Tax
Columbus - Ohio could significantly boost its economy by phasing out its income tax, according to a study released today by the Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based free-market think tank. The report provides state lawmakers with a road map to phase-out Ohio's economic growth-hindering...
Buckeye Institute Announces Government Transparency Center
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute today announced its Center for Transparent and Accountable Government. The center, led by former Statehouse reporter Mike Maurer, will collect and post online state and local government budgets, employee contracts, public records policies and other...
Report: Teacher Merit Pay Needed
COLUMBUS - Introducing merit pay programs into Ohio's existing teacher compensation system will help recruit exceptional new teachers, retain successful teachers, and improve the overall quality of public education, according to a new report released by the Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based free-market think tank.
Testimony: Regulation of Payday Lending in Ohio
By Tom Lehman, Ph.D., posted May 9, 2008
I oppose this bill because I believe additional regulations on the payday lending industry in Ohio are unnecessary, and because, of the various bills related to payday lending regulations currently pending in the Ohio General Assembly, HB545 is perhaps the most likely to create adverse and unintended economic consequences over the long run, and will further restrict and limit credit options for the low- and moderate-income customers who make convenient and tempered use of payday loan services in the State of Ohio.
Sponsor testimony on income tax phaseout
By Rep. John Adams, posted May 8, 2008
HB 534 seeks to eliminate Ohio’s income tax and alleviate the tax burden placed on individuals who look to make Ohio their home. This bill phases out the income tax on individuals, estates, and trusts over ten years.
Federalist Leadership Center Dinner
The Federalist Leadership Center in partnership with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions invites you to a special dinner featuring syndicated writer and television commentator Robert Novak. Mr. Novak will share with us the Founders' Federalist principles and how those principles apply to events in today’s Washington, D.C., a city he has covered as a working journalist for over 50 years.
The Wall Street Journal opens with an editorial today, Texas v. Ohio, comparing Lone Star prosperity with Buckeye decline: "Texas has been prospering while Ohio lags, and the reasons are instructive about what works and what doesn’t in economic policy." According to the WSJ,...
Buckeye Institute Comments on Governor's Stimulus Plan
COLUMBUS -- Buckeye Institute President David Hansen today expressed concerns regarding Governor Ted Strickland's plan to create short-term economic growth through the issuance of long-term debt obligations.
Buckeye Institute Names January Porker and Pistol
COLUMBUS – For spending tax dollars with wasteful disregard, Attorney General Marc Dann was named January’s Porker of the Month by the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions. For authoring legislation that forces more transparency in government spending, State Representative Tom...
Testimony: Regulation of Payday Lending
By Tom Lehman, Ph.D., posted January 31, 2008
Payday lending has come to fill a market niche in the consumer finance industry between the informal sector and conventional but larger and longer-term consumer loan products offered by traditional banks.
Global Warming: Man-Made or Natural?
By Dr. S. Fred Singer, posted January 7, 2008
In the past few years there has been increasing concern about global climate change on the part of the media, politicians, and the public. Recent evidence suggests that this concern is misplaced.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! As you prepare to enjoy the holidays with family and friends, we wanted to take a moment and thank you for your optimism and compassion.
Buckeye Institute Analyst Comments on SCHIP Veto
COLUMBUS – Buckeye Institute healthcare policy analyst Marc Kilmer today commended President Bush for his veto of a bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Buckeye Institute Responds to CEA
COLUMBUS – Buckeye Institute President David Hansen today responded to the Columbus Education Association’s (CEA) ill-informed and questionable complaint to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In a letter to the IRS, the CEA accused the Buckeye Institute of political activity because its...
By David Hansen, posted October 1, 2007
A Buckeye Institute report, to be released next week, blasts a hole in school bureaucrats' demands for more spending under the pretext of addressing inequities in Ohio school funding.
President's Update: Spending on Schools Takes Center Stage
Dear Friends:Putting the fox in charge of the henhouse is the best way to describe a costly and harmful school spending amendment that was proposed by a collection of teachers unions and school bureaucrats. The proposal demanded billions more for public schools. It also sought to...
Wagoner, Peterson and Coughlin Improve Budget
COLUMBUS – The Buckeye Institute today praised Rep. Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo) for improving Ohio’s Medicaid program and Rep. Jon Peterson (R-Delaware) and Sen. Kevin Coughlin (R- Cuyahoga Falls) for providing educational options to special needs children. The legislators shepherded and won...
Porker of the Week: The Strickland Administration
COLUMBUS – Eye on the Statehouse has named the Strickland Administration the Porker of the Week for the costs associated with its sloppy handling of sensitive information. Over the past few weeks, Governor Ted Strickland has provided almost daily disclosures of stolen data containing...
Porker of the Week: The Ohio Senate
COLUMBUS - Eye on the Statehouse has named the Ohio Senate its Porker of the Week for unanimously approving an additional $40 million handout to Ohio’s powerful nursing home industry. Prodded by well-heeled nursing home lobbyists, lawmakers at the committee level inserted funding for...
Porker of the Week: OEA Lobbyist Melissa Clark
COLUMBUS - Eye on the Statehouse has named Ohio Education Association (OEA) lobbyist Melissa Clark as its Porker of the Week. Last week, Ms. Clark asked the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee to severely reduce charter schools and eliminate the popular EdChoice voucher...
Porker of the Week: Department of Job & Family Services
COLUMBUS - Eye on the Statehouse has named the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) its Porker of the Week. The state agency is seeking to expand Ohio's overburdened Medicaid program. Last week, ODJFS Director Helen Jones-Kelly asked the Ohio Senate Finance and Financial...
Poll: More Transparency Sought From State-Hired Lawyers
COLUMBUS – The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions today joined the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) in calling for increased accountability and disclosure from private attorneys working on behalf of state government.Today, ATRA released an opinion poll showing Ohioans overwhelming...
Ohio’s Tax Burden Increases Again Study Shows
COLUMBUS - Ohio's combined state and local tax burden continues to increase according to a study released today by the Tax Foundation, an independent research and educational organization. Ohioans give 12.4 percent of personal income to government, up from 12.1 percent last year, while...
Buckeye Institute Adds Communications Vice President
COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions today announced Carlo LoParo will serve as vice president for communications. LoParo will coordinate the Institute's media activities, manage its Web initiatives and provide its scholars with editorial support."Effectively...
Buckeye Institute Chairman Heads To Middle East
COLUMBUS – Rick Segal, chairman of the Buckeye Institute, will be a delegate to Forbes CEO Middle East Forum to be held February 26–28 in Doha, Qatar. The forum is being held under the patronage of His Highness Skeikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, The Emir of Qatar. Segal is attending the forum at the personal invitation of Forbes president and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes, with whom Segal has shared a long business and political relationship.
Blackwell Joins Buckeye Institute As Distinguished Fellow
COLUMBUS – The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions today announced former secretary of state, state treasurer and 2006 Republican gubernatorial nominee Ken Blackwell has joined the organization as a Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow. Blackwell will focus on state issues with national significance such as taxes, energy, education and health care reform. Also, he will lead the institute’s effort to evaluate public policy based on the principles of limited government, economic empowerment and personal responsibility.
Buckeye Institute Selects New Chairman, Directors
Lessons for Improving Ohio's EdChoice Voucher Program
For Immediate Release --- July 14, 2006 Contact: Michael Hamilton (614)...
COLUMBUS, Ohio. --- ....This report compares the application process of the Milwaukee program, considered to be among the most parent-friendly in the nation, with the Cleveland program, which has a notoriously difficult process. The lessons gleaned from the successes and failures of these two programs provide several recommendations for how the EdChoice voucher program can be improved....
Ohio Government Spends $823 per Second
By David Hansen, posted July 13, 2006
COLUMBUS --- How much money did you spend last week? Ohio government spent more than $499 million, or $79.1 million per day. The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions now clocks how quickly state government spends taxpayer money on its Ohio Spend-O-Meter found at www.buckeyeinstitute.org.
The Buckeye Institute Releases New Policy Brief: The Financial Impact of Ohio's Charter Schools
By Matthew Carr, posted July 6, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio. --- ....This brief fiscal analysis of charter schools shows that, because of the nature of Ohio’s school funding system, charter schools are actually creating increased per pupil revenues for the urban areas they are most likely to be located in. Also, the fiscal data shows that charter schools, on average, operate at a lower cost than their urban counterparts, thus relieving stress on the state budget....
Ohio's March to the Top of the Nation in State and Local Tax Burden
By David Hansen, posted April 12, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio. --- The president of the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, David Hansen, has these observations about the Tax Foundation’s finding that Ohio’s state and local tax burden is ranked third highest in the nation for 2006. "Today's Tax Foundation report placing Ohio third in the nation for state and local tax burden confirms what every Ohioan not employed by government or by a spending interest lobby already knows: Once a low-tax, high-growth state, Ohio is a now a very high tax state from which jobs, growth and prosperity are exiting at an alarming rate."
The Buckeye Institute and CAGW to Release Ohio Piglet Book
(Columbus, OH) - The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, an Ohio-based nonpartisan research and educational institute and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), the nation's premiere taxpayer watchdog, will hold a press conference on Tuesday, August 9 to release the Ohio Piglet...
New Poll Shows Strong Bipartisan Support in Ohio for Proposed TABOR
A new poll released today by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions shows that Ohio voters support by a nearly 3-to-1 margin a proposed Taxpayer's Bill of Rights amendment that would cap the growth of state and local spending at the rate of inflation plus population growth.
Urban Homestead Zones Could Help Break Cycle of Urban Decline
Health Savings Accounts Can Make Employers, Employees and State Governments Feel Better
Municipal Telecom is Risky Business
Have you ever heard of the "yellow pages test?" It is the first step toward determining the validity of any government enterprise. If the private sector offers the service, the test says, taxpayers should not pay local government employees to try and compete. Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith saved $230 million using this test in the 1990s. Unfortunately some Ohio cities are choosing to ignore this principle in telecommunications policy for the sake of being "cutting edge."
The Buckeye Institute Appoints new President
By Emily Clegg, posted November 11, 2004
PUCO Wholesale rate adjustment - The Time is Now to Change Telecom Rates
Buckeye Institute Poll: Policymakers Should Cut Spending, Not Raise Taxes
Buckeye Institute Poll: More Ohioans Oppose VLT Issue Than Support It
By Brandon S. Lynaugh, posted November 20, 2003
THE BUCKEYE INSTITUTEFOR PUBLIC POLICYSOLUTIONS PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 20, 2003 CONTACT: Brandon Lynaugh (614) 224-4422 Buckeye Institute Poll: More Ohioans Oppose VLT Issue Than Support It (COLUMBUS) — In a recent survey of likely...
Ohio To Gain nearly 28,000 Jobs Under Buckeye Institute Proposal
By John P. Blair, Adrian T. Moore, and Geoffrey F. Segal, posted July 26, 2003
Ohio would gain 27,794 jobs under a proposal to decentralize the federal workforce released today by The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions. The study, Decentralizing Federal Employment: Feasibility and Impact on Ohio Cities, is a joint project of The Buckeye Institute of Columbus and the Reason Public Policy Institute of Los Angeles. It was authored by John Blair, a Professor of Economics at Wright State University, Adrian Moore, executive director of Reason Public Policy Institute and Geoffrey Segal, director of Privatization and Government Reform Policy at Reason Public Policy Institute.
School Choice Can Help Revitalize Ohio's Inner-Cities
(COLUMBUS) - The Buckeye Institute today released Education Empowerment Zones: Revitalizing Ohio's Cities through School Choice, a proposal to use school choice to help bring middle income families back into Ohio’s inner-cities. The proposal would establish "education empowerment zones"...
