Ohio GOP governor turns down federal disaster aid for tornado destruction

Ohio's GOP governor, a former rabid Republican congressman, John Kasich, is definitely playing politics, and I wouldn't put it past him to be doing anything he can to keep the economy from growing until after the election.

You see, as Paul Krugman wrote in yesterday's NYT, drastic cuts in state and local spending may be causing an additional 1.5% points of unemployment.  When Kasich turns downs federal money, he forces local towns to either spend the money themselves (money they don't have), or not spend anything at all - either way, it takes money out of the economy that otherwise could be there.  And with interest rates at historic laws, a lot of economists think it's nuts not to be borrowing (since it can be paid back at next to no interest).

The next time Kasich says he has to cut some important state services because of the tight budget, remember why the budget is tight.

Interestingly, the Republican governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, is welcoming FEMA's manpower assist, but so far has not made a federal disaster declaration request.  Daniels is holding off, he says, until the state conducts its own damage assessment.