Statement on the Budget Shortfall

The Strickland Administration recently announced that it will cut $733 million from an already tight state budget. The plan will result in the closure of two state mental hospitals, a freeze in reimbursement rates for PASSPORT community-based care for the elderly, and the reduction of thousands of jobs at state agencies, just to name a few consequences. These cuts do more damage to an already weakened safety net, and do not address the root cause of this situation — misguided tax policies that favor wealthy individuals and remove billions of dollars from the state budget. In a committee hearing in the Ohio House of Representatives, Policy Matters Ohio testified about the failure of tax cuts to generate job growth in Ohio and suggested ways that we can reform our budget policy.

Full Testimony