skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Ohio Budget: Cuts "Sudden, Swift and Difficult"

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 20, 2011   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - It won't take long for Ohio to feel the effects of the state's recently approved two-year budget, according to some policy experts and community leaders.

The budget fills an $8 billion deficit through cuts to just about every state service and program. Wendy Patton, senior associate with Policy Matters Ohio, predicts the impacts will be sudden, swift and very difficult.

"We're going to experience the effects of cuts in this state budget up close and personal, through our kids in their school days and in our neighborhoods and communities - as less cops on the beat, closed firehouses, unplowed streets."

Children in the classroom will be hit hardest, Patton says, as the $56 billion budget slices nearly $2 billion from education. That likely means increased class sizes, reduced staffing and the elimination of courses, says Barbara Shaner, associate executive director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, adding that the "cuts only" budget approach is hurting education.

"There really should be some look at other alternatives. It's an important investment that we make here in Ohio, and I hope that the public looks at what we're getting with the dollars that we spend on education."

Lawmakers missed an opportunity to correct tax policy and bring balance to the budget, Patton says.

"The budget, which is essentially the business plan for Ohio for the next two years, is based solely on cuts. In businesses, you don't look at just one side of the ledger. You look at both sides of the ledger."

Gov. John Kasich has argued that the cuts were critical, and the budget includes reforms that will save taxpayers money. Patton, however, claims the budget favors top earners and corporations, and opens or expands a dozen tax loopholes. She's calling for a fair approach that includes restoring revenues to previous years' levels.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021