Bill won’t help small farms

The Ohio House Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee is considering a bill that would help Ohio’s farms ­— well, 3 percent of them.

The bill would give farms larger than 1,000 acres a tax break worth up to 75 percent of the property value if the farm owners sign an agreement to continue farming the land for 10 years. Participating farms also would be eligible for a credit worth 50 percent of the farm’s real estate taxes.

This bill would cost around $9.3 million dollars to implement ­— a sum Ohio does not have. The state has a $1.5 billion deficit; adding $9 million would be foolish. When funding for social programs is being slashed, the state cannot afford to add $9 million in farm subsidies. Ohio’s farms currently get around $500 million in subsidies per year.

Ninety percent of Ohio’s farms are less than 500 acres, so owners of multiple farms would have to band together to enroll in the program. This bill would help only large farms, such as Buckeye Egg Farm and other confined animal feedlots.

The bill’s supporters say it will help keep Ohio from losing farms, but small farms that do not join the program will not receive the tax breaks. These farms will not be able to compete with large farms that are getting the tax breaks.

Giving a tax break to large farms is one of the worst ways to keep small farms in business. Large farms usually are more profitable and better able to cope with higher taxes. Small farms should be given tax breaks so they can compete with larger farms.

The bill under consideration is supposed to help Ohio’s farms, but unless it is changed to aid smaller farms without forcing them to join together, the bill will assist only Ohio’s largest farms.

 

Big Game big money

The State of Ohio is calling out “Come on big money, no whammies,” with fingers crossed and wishing for a big jackpot to ensue.

Ohio decided to apply to the Big Game multi-state lottery, hoping to use the lottery profits to balance a $1.5 billion state budget deficit.

Some profits from Ohio lotteries go to education funding. Ohio lottery sales have been decreasing during the last four years, so education has been receiving less money. Joining the Big Game will help boost sales — and boost the money that goes to education. The Big Game lottery will generate an estimated $41 million per year for Ohio’s schools.

Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania all play Powerball, another multi-state lottery. People from Ohio often will cross into another state to play the lottery. By joining the Big Game, Ohio can keep the money that is spent out-of-state on lotteries. In addition to keeping money in-state, the Big Game will draw players from surrounding states.

The Big Game is played in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia. With the addition of Ohio and New York, the Big Game will have the possibility to reach larger jackpots and increase sales.

The Big Game lottery will give Ohio a chance to increase lottery sales by drawing in more players from around the state and also players from surrounding states. Playing the multi-state lottery will generate much-needed money for education.