Thursday, July 21, 2005

In 1970, Ohio had one of the lowest tax burdens in the Union - it now has one of the highest. As of 2005, the state's tax burden, as estimated by the Tax Foundation, is 35.8% higher than it was in 1970, the largest increase in the nation over this period.

Since 1970, Ohio's share of the nation's personal income has declined from roughly 5.3% to under 3.8% today. In the first quarter of 2005, Ohio had the fifth highest unemployment rate in the U.S. at 6.2% versus the overall unemployment rate of 5.3%. Meager Ohio employment growth of 0.3% through the first quarter placed the state third-to-last nationally, far behind the U.S. overall rate of 1.7%.

State-to-state migration shows Ohio losing residents, while total population growth of 0.2% ranks it a dismal 47th in the nation.

Even following Ohio's new budget, state and local taxes continue to place Ohio in an uncompetitive position.