A potent combination of economics and politics has Ohio lawmakers facing the prospect of repairing a hole of at least $2,000,000,000 in the next two-year budget in a little over a month.
Among the factors: Pessimistic economic forecasts weren't pessimistic enough. And the Democratic-controlled Ohio House increased spending and didn't follow through on Gov. Ted Strickland's proposals to cut spending. The revenue model the governor used to craft his budget plan was pessimistic, forecasting $2.400,000,000 less in tax revenue in the 2011 fiscal year than in the 2008 fiscal year. But based on recent performance, lawmakers are still likely in for an even more negative forecast before the budget is finalized.