The Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute, in partnership with the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, released new research that found, in an effort to encourage the purchase of electric cars, low- and middle-income Arizonans are subsidizing wealthier Arizonans who can afford new and more expensive electric cars. The report, It Ain’t Easy Being Green: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Electric Vehicles in Arizona, revealed that the subsidies lead to bad outcomes for many Arizonans.

In Renewables Mandate: A Drag on Ohio’s Economy, the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute looks at the impact Ohio’s renewable portfolio standards have on Ohio’s families and businesses. The mandates are part of the debate on House Bill 6, which creates a taxpayer funded subsidy to prop-up declining businesses. “The Buckeye Institute discourages policies that transfer wealth from Ohio households to special interests, whether as subsidies paid with tax dollars, or regulations that create higher prices for necessities, such as electricity.”

A new report, Unsustainable Spending: The State of Alaska’s Budget and Economy, by The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, found that raising taxes would not raise the revenue needed to address Alaska’s $1.6 billion budget shortfall. “Putting new taxes on Alaskans only burdens the state through reduced investment, a stagnant economy, and lower job creation, and it fails to cover the state’s current budget shortfall.” The research was conducted in conjunction with the Alaska Policy Forum.

As Ohio policymakers turn their focus to the state’s 2020-2021 biennial budget, The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center released Sustaining Economic Growth: Tax and Budget Principles for Ohio, which found that returning $210 million in surplus to taxpayers—through permanent lower taxes—would lead to 2,100 more jobs annually. “If Ohio is to sustain its recent economic success and prosperity, state policymakers must follow prudent tax and spending principles as they prepare the state’s budget.”

Not many people understand the sacrifices military families make for our country. Not only do our service men and women put their lives at risk to protect us, but their families are asked to make sacrifices too—including packing up their entire life and moving when a spouse is transferred to another state. And when military families are transferred to Ohio, they should be greeted with a welcome mat, not burdened with bureaucracy and government red tape.

A new report, Healthy and Working: Benefits of Work Requirements for Medicaid Recipients, by The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center found that work and community engagement requirements keep benefit recipients participating in the work force, helping them gain valuable work experience and generate higher earnings and income. “[W]ork and community engagement requirements can lead to better job opportunities with better quality private insurance, higher earnings, and provide incentives to work towards economic prosperity.” 

It’s not often that The Buckeye Institute agrees with Policy Matters Ohio, but when it comes to opposing the increase of the special interest motion picture tax credit, we do! Policymakers are proposing increasing this special interest film tax credit, currently capped at $40 million a year, to a whopping $100 million annually and broadening it to include some Broadway productions, claiming that this tax credit will incentivize Hollywood and Broadway producers to set up shop in Ohio. What it really does is waste your tax dollars on a multi-billion-dollar industry that doesn’t need handouts from Ohioans.