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The State Budget is How Big?

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The State Budget is How Big?

How much money should Ohio be spending every year?

I bumped into a Senator at the Statehouse the other day. He was taking some particular criticism in the newspapers because he was against raising taxes. So I asked him what he thought about the size of the state budget. His answer went much like this: When I first got here we were spending $40 billion in the state budget. Now we are spending $50 billion. In a few years we will be spending $60 billion. The truth is, I honestly cannot tell you why.

This Senator's comments seem to explain the way politics really works today. Lawmakers and special interest lobbyists sit together and take care of each others needs.
The lobbyists tell lawmakers how much money to spend. In return the politicians count on lobbyists to funnel political contributions and powerful friends their way to help them at election time.

The only time things get messy is at the checkout line when the taxpayers are handed the bill for this game of insider trading. But the politicians and the lobbyists know that we the people are so busy working extra hours and jobs to pay the tax bill that we really don't have time to mobilize to stop them from spending us into the poor house. So they smile and head out to their expensive dinners with free drinks courtesy of their friends.

Republicans and Democrats alike are counting on spending much more of your money this year. And they are counting on you being too busy to stop them. If you'd like to change that please give us a call at (800) 522-VOTE. We'll give you a few names and phones numbers you can call. You may not get everything changed you hope for but at least the politicians will be reminded that someone called a voter is still looking at the bill.

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