Upgrading the States: Florida and Ohio get rewarded for their fiscal reforms.

August 16th, 2011

Great news today about Florida’s credit rating as a result of Governor Scott’s fiscal management. Please take a moment to read and recommend to your friends on Facebook!

Originally published in the Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2011. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

Ohio and Florida get plenty of attention as Presidential election swing states, but this year they deserve notice for another reason. While Uncle Sam was having its debt downgraded, Ohio and Florida both got upgrades from Standard & Poor’s in July as a result of their improved fiscal management.

In its report on Ohio, the rating agency attributed its upgrade to AA+ stable from AA+ negative to the Buckeye State’s budget reforms. Governor John Kasich pushed through a budget that closed a roughly $8 billion deficit without raising taxes. S&P also noted the moderate economic recovery and an unemployment rate that fell to 8.6% in May 2011 from 11% in March 2010 as signs of a better long-term fiscal outlook.

Ditto for Florida, which won a AAA rating after closing a budget hole with what S&P said were “significant cost-cutting measuresâ€