A lot to digest in Kasich budget

A lot to digest in Kasich budget

Canton Repository: State legislators have until June 30 to decide which parts of Gov. John Kasich’s proposed budget they’ll support and which parts they’ll change. Heaven knows no one should want the debate to go down to the wire, Washington-style. But the men and women Ohioans have sent to the state House and Senate need to take their time with the plan.

They need to study not just the numbers in the budget, but also the fundamental changes in state government that its passage would bring about.

If similar changes have been made outside Ohio, they need to look at the impact. And they need to find how these big ideas are received back home.

Do they want the state sales tax to become the biggest generator of revenue for state government, replacing the income tax? Should they require thousands of additional businesses to collect the state sales tax in exchange for lowering the tax rate? Should they reset county sales tax rates to regulate how much revenue they collect? And what should they do with a fiscal year-end surplus that’s unprecedented in recent years?

We didn’t think the day would come when a bold, long-awaited school funding plan could be overshadowed by other aspects of a state budget. Legislators need to take a careful look at how all the moving parts in this budget fit together.