Politics aside, state budget needs bipartisan approach

First the politics surrounding Ohio’s collapsing state budget: Republicans who control the Senate are complaining that Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and the Democratic majority in the House stuck it to them by passing along a biennium spending blueprint that requires deep cuts.

Democrats deny the charge — but there is some poetic justice if, indeed, Strickland and the House leadership are taking pleasure in the GOP’s discomfort.

When the Republicans controlled the governor’s office, the House and the Senate, Democrats were not only locked out of the budget process, they were ignored during committee deliberations.

The legislative delegation from the predominantly Democratic Mahoning Valley had to go hat in hand to Republican leaders to get even a glance at the issues that were important to their constituents.

Thus, reading about Democrats in the House increasing spending by $622 million over the budget submitted by the governor and then sending the package to the GOP controlled Senate brought to mind the political saw about payback.

But now it’s time to end the political gamesmanship. The imploding state budget demands bipartisanship in state government, and an opening up of the process so all voices are heard.

It is clear that no one in Columbus has the perfect solution for what ails Ohio economically.

The governor and General Assembly have a month to cut $2 billion from the biennial budget.

Economic turmoil

The reason for the red ink is plain to see: The continuing national economic turmoil has made revenue projection a guessing game in every state.

California sought a series of tax increases, which voters turned down Tuesday. As a result, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the legislature are talking about seeking a bailout from the federal government.

Democratic leaders in the Ohio House say that the hole in the spending plan that they developed was the result of the governor’s office not foreseeing the depth of the recession.

Even though the budget office forecast $23.4 billion less in tax revenue in the 2011 fiscal year than in the 2008 fiscal year, recent economic performance suggests that the projections may have been optimistic. The challenge confronting Strickland and the legislature: How to balance the two-year spending plan without crippling social services, undermining education, hurting those Ohioans on the bottom rung of the economic ladder, shortchanging job creation and other economic development initiatives and further slashing the local government fund.

It won’t be easy, but because state government does not have the luxury of deficit spending, a balanced budget must be passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor.