Posted on 12/15/2008 2:09:21 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
It may not be the next Great Depression -- yet -- but Gov. Ted Strickland said today that he and the nation's governors are facing the worst economic conditions since the 1930s.
“I contend that no governor has faced the same circumstances that I’m facing since the 1930s," Strickland told reporters after an event at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank in Columbus. "These are very unusual circumstances.”
Strickland said he wasn't singling out himself or Ohio, but that the convergence of problems in the housing market, the collapse on Wall Street and other issues has every state but Alaska in or near recession.
The comments are part of an ongoing effort by the Strickland administration to publicize the state's economic struggles in advance of the the next two-year budget that the governor must introduce by February and the legislature must pass by June 30.
Last week, Strickland released a 13-page document detailing prison closings, mass layoffs and other actions possible if state agencies had to cut a quarter of their budgets to fill a projected $7.3 billion budget gap without federal financial help.
Some political analysts say Strickland is softening the political ground for painful budget cuts that may be ahead, or even other unpopular moves that may be necessary such as raising taxes.
Strickland said he's merely trying to be open and honest about the extent of the budget problem and has been making his case to anyone who will listen. Yesterday, he met with 15 Ohio business leaders at the Governor's Residence for about two hours, he said.
As for higher taxes, the governor continued to say today that he thinks tax hikes would be counter-productive in the current recession but made it clear he will do what he has to.
"I will deal with the circumstances as they unfold and will make whatever decisions are necessary to see that we have a balanced budget while maintaining essential services for our people,” he said.
Strickland expects President-elect Barack Obama to be able to sign a massive economic stimulus plan with help for states on or shortly after he takes office Jan. 20. But he cautioned that it likely won't solve all of the state's budget woes.
"I think help will be forthcoming," Strickland said. "Will it be sufficient to prevent us from having to make very, very difficult decisions and perhaps huge reductions in the operation of this state’s government? I doubt it. I think it’s going to be necessary for me as governor and for us as Ohioans to confront difficult choices in difficult times.”
Carter’s issues were many times worse than what we have now.
To them, the sky IS falling. They all got so used to playing during the sunshine, they forgot to plan for a rainy day. Guess they will have to cut bloated programs, entitlement spending and nepotistic jobs, and start focusing on only the most basic of services. I am hearing alot of grasshoppers squawking, the ants, not so much. Mind you my personal situation sucks, but I ain’t no entitlement baby. I’ll figure it out, they need to as well.
Every time I hear someone say that it hasn’t been this bad since Hoover, I remind them about Roosevelt.
I am more than a little appalled by the way media and politicians are hyping this situation. We may be approaching conditions worse than anything since Hoover, but we certainly aren’t in such conditions now.
One of the best ways to ensure that conditions do get worse is to constantly exaggerate prresent problems.
Strickland is in major CYA mode. He’s done nothing-zip-zero-zilch for OH. Here’s a real quick way for him to raise some cash-reverse the “no smoking in public” policy of the state. Sell “permits” to those restaurants and bars that want to permit smoking ($1000 per permit). He’ll see an increase in tax revenues generated by taxes on beer, wine and liquor sold in restaurants and bars.
It’s those eeeeeevil Alaskan oil companies, making their filthy rotten profits!;)
Hoover’s big mistake was starting the new deal and signing the tariff. FDR pledged to CUT SPENDING AND WARNED OF THE DANGERS OF SOCIALISM!!!!! HE LIED HIS BUTT OFF.
North Dakota says they’re doing fine.
The ants better hope they dug their nests deep enough, because the grasshoppers will be trying to eat them soon.
Well, I don’t know about the sky falling..., keeping in mind that we did “make it through” the last Great Depression. We do survive.
I think the point here is not whether the sky is falling, but whether we’re going to have a Great Depression that will be compared (in severity) with the last one that we had.
I think — indeed — this is going to be compared, in severity, with the last Great Depression that we had. It is that bad. But, is the “sky falling”? Well, it depends on whether you are the 25% unemployed or the 75% employed — as in the last Great Depression.
Wait for the year 2009 to get underway (by mid-year, at least, I would say) and you’ll see the “Great Depression” really taking hold.
It will affect all of us, to be sure...
ping
The tidbit that McCain was too ignorant or stubborn to use was that Alaska had revenue in excess of 2 trillion more than budget costs in 2008 from reports I read. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have a VP with that record?
It's one thing to look back 70 years and say "that proved to be bad economic policy"...it's quite another to try it again in similar context.
I've seen pieces put out by the media about how failed Hoover's policies were, but not a word on the fact that we may just be going down that road again.
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. (George Santanaya)
LOL. Not even funny cause its true, but at this point if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, and Im NOT a baby (sniff sniff)
Actually, what we face in the next 1-2 years is going to be very similar to "Carter's issues." Anemic (or non-existent) growth combined with high inflation (the U.S. government is making financial commitments it can only expect to keep through inflation) is exactly what the 1970s was all about.
It's one of those 'Circle of Life' kind of things.
they never seem to notice that it is the states with the most liberal governors who always seem to be doing the worst....and those lousy governors help screw up the national economy and Bush gets blamed.
You don’t think Gray Davis and Ahhnold have contributed mightly to the economic malaise we have nationally by killing so many jobs in the worlds 5th largest economy in California???
And never a word that FDRs policies were bad. He escalated what Hoover started and prolonged the depression but he is great and Hoover stinks.
Loon.
The “poor” have big screen TVs, cable, a car, and are fat.
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