Archive
Broadcast
About
A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
Program Directory
Huge hurdles await Ohio's new leaders: Thomas Suddes - The Plain Dealer
Ohio's Republican-run General Assembly will aim in 2011 to write a state budget without raising taxes; make Ohio congressional districts even more GOP-friendly; and tilt, toward management, Ohio's 1983 union-bargaining law for public employees. Gov.-elect John Kasich and his fellow Republicans may be positioned to meet their policy goals -- if the GOP doesn't splinter.
2. John Kasich Faces Criticism for a Lack of Transparency
An open or shut case? - The Columbus Dispatch
Some examples of Gov.-elect John Kasich's stances on transparency:
¿ During a news conference in December on the selection of Thomas P. Charles as public-safety director, Kasich cut off questions about potential conflicts of interest because Charles' wife and son work for the State Highway Patrol. Kasich chided reporters for asking about such issues and said the need for transparency is keeping good people out of public office.
3. Ohio Republicans Vow to Cut Taxes and Erase Deficit
Ohio House speaker sets busy agenda - The Columbus Dispatch
Eliminating the estate tax and adding business tax credits are among the priority bills that new House Speaker William G. Batchelder will roll out soon, perhaps next week.
4. The Pros and Cons of Private Prisons
The dominant argument for private prisons is that they will save taxpayers money, as for-profit owners have an incentive to seek efficiencies bureaucrats overseeing government institutions lack. Anyway, that's the theory.
According to the Arizona Republic, the reality is that private prisons in the Grand Canyon State so far cost more on a per-prisoner basis than do public institutions. Some experts contend that firms in the prison business reap profits by billing government for rather more than their initial lowball estimates while scrimping in ways that may make prisons less secure.
January 7, 2011