WSJ Doesn’t Paint Entire Picture

June 29, 2008 by Pelikan
Filed under: Gov Strickland, Ohio Economy, Uncategorized 

Wow.

Older, poorer, and dumber and Ohio isn’t making any of the right moves to get its economy back on track. That’s what Chester E. Finn, Jr. wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on June 28. Finn laments rising unemployment, high state and local taxes, broken school funding, and general degradation of everything from his home state’s downtowns to corporate earnings.

You can read Finn’s piece here.

Much of what Finn has to say is true. It’s what is not said that is the problem. The contention that Ohio is “making all the wrong moves to reverse the situation” is not true. Finn mentions Gov. Ted Strickland almost with wonder that he could be enjoying approval ratings around 55%. If he would have done a little digging into Strickland’s record regarding bolstering Ohio’s economy, the tone of his article may have been different.

In just the past five months, Strickland has signed two executive orders aimed directly at a better business climate for Ohio. The first, signed in February, is Implementing Common Sense Business Regulation. According to the governor’s office, the executive order requires:

  • agencies to review existing rules and processes;
  • to treat those affected by their rules and regulatory processes as customers and treat them consistently across regions, offices, and departments;
  • and to consolidate regulatory rules and processes
  • directs certain cabinet agencies to designate an existing staff member as an agency regulatory ombudsman
  • regulatory reviews to determine if existing rules are needed to implement the underlying statute and ensure consistency with federal rules and the Common Sense Business Regulation process;
  • After a review, state agencies must amend or rescind rules that are unnecessary, that unnecessarily impede economic growth, or that have had unintended negative consequences.

Supporters of this order include the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Manufacturer’s Association, and the Ohio arm of the National Federation of Independent Business.

Just last week, Strickland signed an executive order to promote sweeping change in the state’s $3.5 billion per year spend on supplies and services. You can find it here. This order was preceded by one day by his signing of the Capital/Corrections Bill, which contained other procurement reform measures. There is a lot of detail in the procurement measures, but it essentially gets down to Ohio government operating more as an enterprise and not two dozen or so banana republics. Using a center-led purchasing philosophy which demands state agencies to collaborate — and by ridding agencies like the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation of their exemptions from central purchasing authority — the state conservatively expects to save $35 to $70 million.

In addition to the savings gleaned from Strickland’s moves toward more efficient and accountable government, there’s something in procurement reform for business. Set aside programs that have essentially been ignored by many agencies during Republican administrations are getting executive attention. Minority-owned, economically or socially disadvantaged, and Ohio owned set asides or preferences under Ohio law will now be tracked and reported agency by agency

Strickland signed legislation in May which reforms the state’s energy industry. Strickland demanded – and got – from the Ohio legislature a bill which ensures the affordability and predictability of utility costs for consumers and businesses alike. The bill also featured a renewable energy component which mandates that at least 25% of energy sold in the state by 2025 must be generated from renewable sources.

After calling for an economic stimulus package in January, Strickland signed a $1.57 billion stimulus bill in early June. The bill invests in job-creating industries, communities, infrastructure, and workforce development to stimulate job creation and lay the foundation for long-term economic growth.

While Finn’s and others’ concerns are real regarding Ohio’s demographic and economic situation, Strickland sees the big picture. He’s taking on the big issues and treating government more like a business and approaching the private sector as his most important customer. You can’t turn around 16 years of bad state policy in 16 months, but Strickland is making all the right moves so far.

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