Joe Hallett of the Dispatch has examined some of Kasich's plans, and has made a few notes:
....He promises to "skinny down" state government. Referring to state programs and services, Kasich said, "You have to go through and figure out: Do you need it, can you shrink it, can you combine it, can you privatize it, can you outsource it, can you sell it, is there a better way of doing things?"
....Here's the problem: Even if all 58,000 state government employees were fired, the savings would amount to about $5 billion -- still $2 billion less than the impending budget hole. But the actual savings in tax dollars would be just over $2 billion, because more than half of state employees are paid with user fees that sustain departments such as commerce, environmental protection, natural resources, insurance and others.....
...So cutting $7 billion to balance the budget would require Kasich to gut services Ohioans depend upon. Schools would close, prisoners would be released and poor children would be kicked to the curb.....
Sounds very draconian. Of course, what do you expect of someone who worked for Lehman Brothers?
**** I find it totally amazing that the Republicans have just noticed that we have a deficit! Exactly which party created the deficit? There are some fascinating charts at the Democratic Underground:
Check out the rest of the charts at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x190083