At least somebody is looking ahead in Ohio!  It isn't our political leaders... They're still stewing over the $851 million gap in the current biennial budget.  But that's chump change compared to the $7 billion shortfall anticipated for the 2011-2013 budget.  Why is the bottom falling out two years from now? Because state coffers are padded now with one-time state and federal stimulus funds. These funds will vanish two years from now, and they will have to be replaced somehow.

How much is $7 billion?  Not much if you're wrestling with the California budget.  But for Ohio it's all of 14 percent of what the state needs over a two-year period to keep running.  So far, our political leaders aren't sharing any ideas.  But the Ohio Society of CPAs is issuing a wake-up call for anyone who's willing to listen.  Here are a few things the Society is telling us we should look forward to and that lawmakers should plan for in 2011:

• First and foremost - HIGHER TAXES (The Society can afford to be honest and state the obvious because its membership is not running for public office).
• Additional performance audits of state government operational efficiencies to make sure taxpayers are getting what they should for their tax dollars.
• Reduced government employee benefits, especially defined benefit levels.
• Government consolidation.  J. Matthew Yuskewich, who chairs the Society's executive board, points out that existing state and local government entities have been in place for almost 200 years.  We should examine the utility and efficacy of townships, for example, which were conceived in the 1800s.
• With respect to taxes, focusing on products that can do harm is the best idea, in Yuskewich's view. Junk food, sugary soft drinks, alcohol, and cigarettes are all good examples.

Thank goodness we finally have somebody stepping up to the plate and talking sense.  We need to "man-up" to the realities of paying out more, living on less, and tightening our belts.  A big thank you to the Ohio Society of CPAs.  You guys rock!