The Buckeye Institute, a state policy think-tank that tends to lean to the right, and Policy Matters Ohio, a state policy think-tank that tends to lean to the left, both issued reports this week taking aim at Ohio’s economy and offered solutions to make it better.
The Buckeye Institute, working with the Fraser Institute, ranked the economic freedom in all 50 states. It ranked Ohio 40th of the 50 states, worse than Indiana (18th), Pennsylvania (21st) and Michigan (27th). It blames the poor ranking on high government spending on workers’ compensation, public pensions and social programs. It also says Ohio spends too much on tax policies benefiting special interests and holding back the market economy.
Policy Matters Ohio, working with Keystone Research, also offers a bleak view of Ohio. It notes Ohio suffers from too many low-paying jobs, with high employee turnover, widespread ignorance of wage and overtime rules and people not receiving paid sick time and common-sense standards, such as scheduling in advance.
They’re both interesting reports as Gov. John Kasich wanders the country pushing his presidential run. He boasts about his “Ohio Miracle” and how the state bounced back from the Great Recession after 2008. There’s no doubt the state is better off than it was seven years ago, but these reports make you wonder if we’re travelling the best route possible.
Both organizations think we can do better and offer steps how.
For the Buckeye Institute, the answer is reform by moving things from the public sector to the private sector. It advocates moving insurance and retirement payments out of the government. It argues they should be freely bought and sold in the private sector, saying Ohio ranks 49th out of 50 states in this regard.
The Buckeye Institute also argued Ohio should give private charities the primary role in providing social services, not providing tax breaks and subsidies for “favored businesses,” as it calls them. The state ranked 38th in transfers and subsidies as a percent of personal income.
Overall, income and payroll tax revenues ranked 38th in the country as a percent of personal income in the Buckeye Institute report.
The Policy Matters report sees a totally different set of solutions, taking advantage of the federal Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act. The new set of standards, which replaces the previous Workforce Investment Act, brings a new opportunity to employers and the government.
Low-income adults and youth with limited skills, lacking work experience, use those programs. Policy Matters Ohio suggests as states write their programs this year for the newer program that they really consider the quality of jobs.
We agree that partnering with stronger, stable companies with a clearly defined path of success is a good idea. We shouldn’t build a workforce that can’t continue to learn and earn. We can’t work with companies simply looking for a subsidy. In the past, we’ve voiced our support for “On the Job Training” programs, with federal money paying up to half an employee’s salary while they learn how to do skilled jobs. We continue to support this proven program.
We want to see these programs directed to building a strong workforce. If we’re going to pay into these federal programs, we want to see a meaningful local result from them.
We’re hopeful our leaders can look through both of these proposals and find ways to implement the best from both proposals in an effort to truly build a stronger Ohio economy.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
