In a new policy memo, How Ohio Can Join the Flat-Tax Revolution, The Buckeye Institute outlines how Ohio can “lower tax rates for everyone” and use revenue triggers “along the way to an across-the-board flat-tax.” In the policy memo, Buckeye experts note that moving Ohio to a 2.75 percent flat tax would “result in a $2.5 billion boost to GDP, thousands of new jobs, and $800 million in increased investment in 2024.”
 

In a new policy memo, Put Students First & Expand School Choice, The Buckeye Institute outlined how—by expanding school choice—Ohio lawmakers can help parents tailor learning resources to meet their child’s educational needs. Buckeye offered lawmakers four specific recommendations to “make it easier for families to provide the best education for their children” and pointed out that Ohio’s record-breaking surplus gives the Senate a historic opportunity to expand school choice to every child in every family in every community.
 

As American Electric Power and other energy companies prepare to implement significant rate hikes, new research released by The Buckeye Institute modeled the impact that a new Clean Power Plan—which the Biden Administration is attempting to revive through the regulatory process—would have on jobs, the economy, and customers. With their robust economies, diverse geographies, and mixed population densities, researchers looked at California and Ohio to illustrate how a new Clean Power Plan would affect most of the country.

In a new policy memo, Responsibly Spending Remaining ARPA Dollars, The Buckeye Institute outlined how states can “follow Ohio’s lead” on how to wisely spend their remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) tax dollars. The Buckeye Institute noted that as state legislatures debate how to spend remaining ARPA dollars, they should adhere to “sound spending principles that will keep…state[s] solvent without risking future tax hikes or painful spending cuts.”

The Buckeye Institute released its now world-famous 2023 Piglet Book, which analyzed Ohio’s proposed biennial budget and identified more than $2.7 billion in savings for Ohio taxpayers. “By implementing pro-growth tax policies, prioritizing necessary spending, closing tax loopholes, ending corporate welfare and government ‘philanthropy,’ and continuing the effort to fund students first, lawmakers can spur economic growth and prosperity for all Ohioans.”

The Buckeye Institute released Obesity’s Impact on Ohio’s Workforce, which looked at the economic impact of obesity and found that more than 32,000 Ohioans would be working if obesity were eliminated. Those newly employed Ohioans would generate nearly $20 million in additional revenues for the state. “A healthy, productive workforce is key to sustaining a strong economy. But Ohio, like much of the country, suffers from an obesity problem that keeps thousands of workers out of the workforce.”

In a new policy brief, Budget Priorities for a More Prosperous Ohio, The Buckeye Institute outlines specific tax and education reforms lawmakers should pursue to improve Ohio’s economy and workforce. “By adopting tax reforms that allow workers to keep more of their own money and education policies that empower families, lawmakers will make Ohio a freer, less expensive, and more desirable place to live, learn, and work.”

For the third year running, Ohio has ranked a mediocre 35th out of all 50 states in the Economic Freedom of North America 2022 report, released by the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute in partnership with Canada’s Fraser Institute. The report ranks every state and province in North America based on economic freedom, as measured by government spending, taxation, and labor market restrictions. “Although Ohio has maintained a mediocre, the 2023 budget year offers opportunities for dramatic improvement.”

In a new policy memo, Money Well Spent: How to Invest Remaining Federal Money, The Buckeye Institute recommends that Ohio lawmakers use the remaining American Rescue Plan Act tax dollars to rebuild Ohio’s unemployment trust fund, make broadband more accessible, and expand and advertise the Ohio Afterschool Enrichment education savings account program. “By adhering to Buckeye-championed principles on pandemic spending, Ohio lawmakers can ensure remaining federal funding is not only spent, but also spent well.” 

In a new policy report, #StudentsFirst: Empowering Parents to Help Students Regain Lost Learning, The Buckeye Institute outlines how empowering parents, funding students first, and enhancing school choice can counteract the ill effects the pandemic had on learning loss for Ohio’s K-12 students. “Families deserve these reforms as their students struggle to overcome the negative long-term effects of the pandemic protocols that cost them valuable years of learning.”