Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Congress should restore state aid
Community Solutions joined Governor Strickland and numerous other groups across the state in reaching out to our congressional delegation urging Congress to include discretionary aid to states in the final Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Here are some excerpts from our letter:
“Once again, the federal government has the opportunity – indeed responsibility – to partner with the states in responding to this deep recession. Please restore the $40 billion in state aid to the Economic Recovery Package and enable Ohio and other states to identify and provide aid where it is most urgently needed in each state….
State expenditures have grown at an annual average rate of 1.4 percent over the past five years – less than half of the rate of inflation. For these five years, the cumulative impact on state services is an overall cut of eight percent. In the meantime, Ohio’s sagging economy has placed heightened demands for basic state services by persons displaced by the economic turmoil….”
A new issue brief from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities examines three tax cuts added or expanded by the Senate. They found that the Senate reduced spending by removing certain funds (including aid to states) which were well-designed to stimulate the economy. The tax cuts substituted by the Senate are not targeted and are thus unlikely to provide a substantial boost to the economy.
The ramifications of a failure of the federal government to help our state will be truly devastating. Substantial cuts in services or even outright elimination of some programs is a real possibility. Strickland’s proposed budget already cuts state employees salaries – imagine what would happen if positions had to be eliminated. At the very moment when Ohioans are most in need, our state would be unable to help. We need our federal legislators to step up and provide some relief – failing to do so would be devastating.
Here are some excerpts from our letter:
“Once again, the federal government has the opportunity – indeed responsibility – to partner with the states in responding to this deep recession. Please restore the $40 billion in state aid to the Economic Recovery Package and enable Ohio and other states to identify and provide aid where it is most urgently needed in each state….
State expenditures have grown at an annual average rate of 1.4 percent over the past five years – less than half of the rate of inflation. For these five years, the cumulative impact on state services is an overall cut of eight percent. In the meantime, Ohio’s sagging economy has placed heightened demands for basic state services by persons displaced by the economic turmoil….”
A new issue brief from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities examines three tax cuts added or expanded by the Senate. They found that the Senate reduced spending by removing certain funds (including aid to states) which were well-designed to stimulate the economy. The tax cuts substituted by the Senate are not targeted and are thus unlikely to provide a substantial boost to the economy.
The ramifications of a failure of the federal government to help our state will be truly devastating. Substantial cuts in services or even outright elimination of some programs is a real possibility. Strickland’s proposed budget already cuts state employees salaries – imagine what would happen if positions had to be eliminated. At the very moment when Ohioans are most in need, our state would be unable to help. We need our federal legislators to step up and provide some relief – failing to do so would be devastating.
