Ohio’s Future Foundation Chairman and former Congressman Jim Renacci hosted a forum on the gas tax Monday evening with Greg Lawson of The Buckeye Institute and Paul Lewis of the Eno Center for Transportation. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) has been pushing for an 18-cent gas tax increase, which Monday night’s panelists think might be too high. Although a controversial subject, the panelists were in agreement on one thing: the state government needs to be smarter with how it spends its money. “I think the real opportunity is to focus on trying to make our transportation institutions more efficient and a lot of that has to do with investing smartly, not necessarily focusing on big, expansive projects, but more doing the things that voters are actually looking for, which is roads that are well maintained, buses that run on time—kind of the run-of-the-mill stuff that isn’t as exciting as a new highway or some kind of new big project, but it’s the thing that people care about everyday. It’s really kind of focusing on asset management and taking better care of what we have,” Lewis said. Lawson agreed with the sentiment, and encouraged politicians not to get “hung up” on the…
Read the full storyFormer Congressman Renacci Calls for Smarter Government Spending During Forum on Gas Tax
