Last year Kasich’s team made a big deal about how ODOT was short on cash and lots of transportation projects would need to be cancelled or delayed for decades.
Kasich used this “crisis” to make the case for his $3.4 million study of the Turnpike that led to his current plan: selling $1.5 Billion in bonds against turnpike revenue to help fund ODOT. Problem solved.
But a year has passed since Kasich made those dire predictions, and Ohio’s economic forecast seems to have improved quite substantially.
If you believe Kasich’s math, Ohio will see a $1.9 billion budget surplus over the next two years and Kasich says he has so much extra money laying around that he’s planning a huge income tax cut for Ohio’s richest folks.
Happy days are here again!
Except for the Ohio Turnpike Commission.
Despite the rosy economic news – Kasich is still planning to burden the turnpike, possibly for decades, with $1.5 Billion in new debt while blowing billions more on an unnecessary election year tax cut that he believes will help him get reelected in 2014.
These are the types of bad decisions Republicans like Kasich always seem to make whenever they get a few extra dollars to play with.
Instead of spending his holiday bonus check on a much needed car repair, he’d rather blow it all on a party at a strip club, then take out a loan to fix his brakes.
Kasich’s budget is election year politics at its worst. And Ohioans are the ones who ultimately suffer the consequences.
Related Stories
- Kasich: Ohio now “fantastic” so let’s add billions in new Turnpike debt!
- Shouldn’t we “Let Ohio Vote” on new turnpike tolls and state debt?
- Kasich’s tax “reforms” are a massive tax cut for the rich
- Kasich’s ODOT “considers” spending turnpike money in Southern Ohio
- Kasich’s ODOT and Turnpike Directors Won’t Commit Turnpike Money to Northern Ohio
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