In August, Gov. John Kasich and Republicans in charge of the state legislature let pass an opportunity to collect $176 million from the federal government. There were strings attached, the state required to modernize its unemployment compensation system, say, by extending benefits to part-time workers or to those in approved job training programs. Almost three dozen other states met the test. Many did so in view of borrowing heavily from the feds during the recession to keep their jobless funds in operation.

Take the money, and Ohio would have modestly reduced the cost of its borrowing, the state now with a $2.3 billion debt to the federal government.

On Thursday, Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based think tank, released an analysis that offers helpful context. It persuasively establishes how the state has neglected to manage effectively its unemployment compensation fund