A recent article in the Columbus Dispatch described what the result would be for Ohio’s annual budget in terms of service cuts: painful. This description does not even begin to skim the surface of what Republican Governor-elect John Kasich has proposed for Ohio.
 Gov.-elect John Kasich with former Pres. George W Bush |
Kasich, a former Wall Street businessman, made over half a million dollars in bonuses upon the collapse of Lehman Brothers, where he was an investment banker. Kasich profited off of the economic crisis, much like other executives and Wall Street bankers. He is rabidly anti-worker, and his proposed budget blatantly displays this.
There have been several different budget scenarios proposed for Ohio, but at best, they are expected to slash health care and other services for Ohioans. The Ohio Department of Aging said that even if Ohio maintained 100 percent of the funds it held last year, 25,000 would still have to go without medical services and Medicaid. This would mean a loss of prescription medication for thousands of Ohio’s elderly. The Department of Jobs and Family Services reports that cuts in children’s services would also threaten to place children “at a greater risk for maltreatment.”
Universities are expected to have to make massive tuition increases to sustain the upcoming budget that will drop support for public education. With an average increase in tuition at Ohio universities in the last decade ranging from 15 to 24 percent, this budget will only place a larger burden on students struggling for quality education.
Even more dismal is the potential state of Ohio prisons. Due to budget shortfalls, entire prison complexes are expected to shut down, which would leave Ohio prisons at over 150 percent capacity by 2013. While some prisoners might be released, those remaining would be crammed into the remaining prisons, even to the point of “hot bunking” or sharing beds and sleeping in shifts.
Of course, under capitalism, prisons serve as warehouses for poor and oppressed people. A huge part of the budget shortfall could be saved if tens of thousands of people incarcerated for non-violent charges—such as drug possession—were released immediately and provided services instead. But neither ruling-class party ever considers this option, preferring to make prison conditions more and more unbearable.
Governor-elect Kasich has not issued specifics on the issue of prisons or education, but he did vow to not raise taxes. Kasich served the Wall Street bankers and corporations while in Washington and he plans to do the same in Ohio. While ostensibly opposed to taxing working people, it is clear that Kasich plans to rein in spending by cutting social services whilst giving tax breaks to corporations.
Ohio voters flocked to the polls to kick former Democratic governor Ted Strickland out of office, due to massive education cuts and job losses during his time in office. Unfortunately, Kasich has no desire to help working people in Ohio. He is a representative of the rich and ruling elite that has continued to dominate national politics during the economic crisis.
We need a movement to fight back against education, social service and health care cuts. Only a movement struggling for socialism will put an end to these economic woes. The Party for Socialism and Liberation is mobilizing in the streets in Ohio and across the country to demand an alternative to the criminal system of capitalism.
