Gov. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) is considering a tour of Ohio to talk to residents about how bad the economy is getting in the state and what his plans might be for the state's biennial budget, which will be introduced to Ohio's 128th General Assembly in the new year.
Strickland told the Columbus Dispatch that he was planning on travelling the state to explain to Ohioans "how the national economy is affecting the state's economy and how state government is going to have to deal with it."
Ohio's unemployment levels rose in October to 7.3 percent, up from 7.2 percent in September. The unemployment rate in August was 7.4 percent. The October figures mark the first time that the unemployment rate in Ohio has been above 7 percent for three months in a row since 1992.
The U.S. unemployment rate in October was 6.5 percent.
One year ago, Ohio unemployment was at 5.7 percent in October 2007.
Strickland and the Ohio legislature will be working with a tight budget this time around, leaving some to wonder how Strickland will present his educational funding reform considering the lack of excess revenue.
Strickland is currently holding a school-funding discussion tour around the state before he presents his plan to the new legislature when the new session begins. Some legislators have wondered whether Strickland will include education plans within the budget, or present them as separate legislation.
The Dispatch quoted Strickland's budget director as saying that "additional budget cuts probably will be needed beyond the $1.3 billion in reductions and other adjustments that have been made to the current budget, which expires June 30, and that agency spending likely will have to be slashed in the next two-year budget as well."
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