Columbus Dispatch
Saturday, May 28, 2011 03:07 AM
The May 14 letter by former Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish, “Blind partisan affection can impair one’s vision of reality,” left absent a major component to his commentary: reality.
First of all, Budish’s “facts” refer to a specific portion of the budget, the general-revenue fund, which accounts for less than half of total state spending. In the upcoming fiscal year, the total spending is actually $3 billion less in the first year vs. current spending. In fact, Budish’s House increased total spending by $6.4 billion this year vs. last year, only magnifying our current economic crisis.
Second, unemployment was at 9.4 percent by the end of Budish’s term as speaker — much higher than the 8.6 percent when he started. During that time, readers’ income taxes were retroactively increased by almost $900 million.
Third, the current budget significantly decreases the use of one-time resources, using $1.2 billion this year and around $100 million the following year. House Republicans are responsibly weaning our state off the use of one-time revenue, reducing the amount of one-time resources by nearly 98 percent of what Budish “borrowed” to avoid making any difficult budget decisions two years ago. The one-time money in this budget pales in comparison to the more than $8 billion in one-time money authorized by the last General Assembly when he held the gavel. He obstinately buried his head in the sand and left the tough choices to be made by those who can — and are — leading prudently.
The former speaker is correct that reducing government costs and holding tax rates down while investing in what matters are excellent ideas. Unfortunately, while serving as House speaker, he chose instead to retroactively increase income taxes by 4.2 percent, raise fees by $1 billion and have his caucus spend two years kicking the can down the road. That brought us today’s mess.
Make no mistake: The current budget deals with the economic realities of our great state and fills the $8 billion budget hole without raising taxes on anyone. Our budget is focused on job creation and making government more efficient for you, the taxpayers. Americans for Tax Reform and Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee, among others, have acknowledged that our budget, while difficult, finally invests in Ohio’s future and a stable fiscal path toward a stronger Ohio.
Two years ago, The Dispatch, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, and practically every other newspaper in the state discussed at length the “ticking time bomb” we would be facing in this budget if our problems were not dealt with then. They were right. Budish’s budget two years ago was, in a sense, bipartisan: It ignored all Ohioans — Democrats and Republicans alike — regardless of whether they are part of the middle class.
REP. RON AMSTUTZ
3rd Ohio House District
Wooster
The May 14 letter by former Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish, “Blind partisan affection can impair one’s vision of reality,” left absent a major component to his commentary: reality.
First of all, Budish’s “facts” refer to a specific portion of the budget, the general-revenue fund, which accounts for less than half of total state spending. In the upcoming fiscal year, the total spending is actually $3 billion less in the first year vs. current spending. In fact, Budish’s House increased total spending by $6.4 billion this year vs. last year, only magnifying our current economic crisis.
Second, unemployment was at 9.4 percent by the end of Budish’s term as speaker — much higher than the 8.6 percent when he started. During that time, readers’ income taxes were retroactively increased by almost $900 million.
Third, the current budget significantly decreases the use of one-time resources, using $1.2 billion this year and around $100 million the following year. House Republicans are responsibly weaning our state off the use of one-time revenue, reducing the amount of one-time resources by nearly 98 percent of what Budish “borrowed” to avoid making any difficult budget decisions two years ago. The one-time money in this budget pales in comparison to the more than $8 billion in one-time money authorized by the last General Assembly when he held the gavel. He obstinately buried his head in the sand and left the tough choices to be made by those who can — and are — leading prudently.
The former speaker is correct that reducing government costs and holding tax rates down while investing in what matters are excellent ideas. Unfortunately, while serving as House speaker, he chose instead to retroactively increase income taxes by 4.2 percent, raise fees by $1 billion and have his caucus spend two years kicking the can down the road. That brought us today’s mess.
Make no mistake: The current budget deals with the economic realities of our great state and fills the $8 billion budget hole without raising taxes on anyone. Our budget is focused on job creation and making government more efficient for you, the taxpayers. Americans for Tax Reform and Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee, among others, have acknowledged that our budget, while difficult, finally invests in Ohio’s future and a stable fiscal path toward a stronger Ohio.
Two years ago, The Dispatch, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, and practically every other newspaper in the state discussed at length the “ticking time bomb” we would be facing in this budget if our problems were not dealt with then. They were right. Budish’s budget two years ago was, in a sense, bipartisan: It ignored all Ohioans — Democrats and Republicans alike — regardless of whether they are part of the middle class.
REP. RON AMSTUTZ
3rd Ohio House District
Wooster
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