Zach Schiller – Research Director, Policy Matters Ohio |
Friday March 5, 2010
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Crawford Hall – Room 9
Inamori Center
Case Western Reserve University
Dear Colleagues,
The numbers are numbing.
Ohio state revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 were down about 11 percent from revenues two years before. During 2009-10, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act covered about 30-40% of most states’ budget shortfalls. But it will cover only 20% of projected shortfalls in 2011, and then is scheduled to expire. In the current recession, state revenues in general have fared far worse than the economy as a whole, and they are not projected to recover anytime soon. Meanwhile, during a recession, needs for state services only increase.
During most recessions, states have raised taxes substantially in order to balance their budgets. That has happened somewhat, but not as much as usual it appears, across the country this time. Ohio is no exception. So, given a menu of really bad choices, is the answer to raise taxes? If so, on whom and how much?
That should be a topic for a good talk and some good discussion. If you are interested, a good report on state fiscal circumstances across the nation is available at http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1214.
As usual, we will gather in Room 9 of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, on the lower level of Crawford Hall, for free cookies, beverages, and brown bag lunch.
Best regards,
Joe White
About Our Guests
Zach Schiller is research director at Policy Matters Ohio. Prior to coming to Policy Matters in 2001, Zach had more than two decades of experience researching and writing about the Ohio economy as a business reporter for The Plain Dealer and Business Week. His education includes a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. For Policy Matters, Zach has written about foreclosures, economic development, job growth, unemployment insurance, tax policy and other issues. He is a member of the board of managers of the Ohio Poverty Law Center.
Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:
March 12: Spring Break, No Discussion
March 19: TBA
March 26: Observations in Beirut. With Bill Marling, Professor of English.
April 2: Abortion, Health Care Reform, and the Moral Dimensions of Political Compromise. With Susan Dwyer, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Maryland.
April 9: Business and Sustainability. With Roger Saillant, Ph.D. Executive Director, Fowler Center for Sustainable Values, Weatherhead School of Business.
April 16: : Does Environmental Responsibility Mean the Elderly Should Accept “Natural” Deaths? With Felicia Nimue Ackerman, Professor of Philosophy, Brown University.
April 23: Science in the Courts. With Wendy Wagner, Joe A. Worsham Centennial Professor, University of Texas School of Law.
The Friday Lunch discussions are held on the lower (ground) level of Crawford Hall. Visitors with mobility issues may find it easiest to take advantage of special arrangements we have made. On most Fridays, a few parking spaces in the V.I.P. lot in between Crawford Hall and Amasa Stone Chapel are held for participants in the lunch discussion.
Visitors then can avoid walking up the hill to the first floor of Crawford by entering the building on the ground level, through the garage area under the building. The further door on the left in that garage will be left unlocked during the period before the Friday lunch. On occasion, parking will be unavailable because of other university events.
For more information about these and other Center for Policy Studies programs, please see http://policy.case.edu.