Monday, September 22, 2008

Rules of Retention

Via the Advance Northeast Ohio blog, some Ohio lawmakers have the brilliant idea to pay brains to stay:

The proposal would offer nonrefundable state income tax credits to Ohio educated college gra-duates. They would have to commit to staying in the state for at least five years to help build a skilled work-force to entice new businesses to invest here.

State Rep. Jay Goyal of Mansfield, 27, the youngest Democrat in the Ohio House, and State Rep. Josh Mandel, 30, of Lyndhurst, the youngest Republican, had a news conference Wednesday to announce the proposal, which hasn't been officially introduced.

The bill would award state income tax credits that would be claimed over a 10-year period -- up to $5,000 for an associate's degree, $20,000 for a bachelor's degree and $30,000 for master's degree level work or higher.

How many graduates would stay in Ohio regardless of whether or not there is a tax credit? They would all be eligible for the same benefit. There is also mention of using this policy to attract talent. How many people with post-secondary degrees are already moving to Ohio?

Not to worry ... These politicians have the numbers all figured out:

"We need bold action so Ohio can reverse this exodus of young talent."

It's estimated each additional graduate retained or attracted would generate an estimated $500,000 in state and local tax revenues over 25 years.

Goyal said that translates to a return on Ohio's investment of about 2,000 percent, for a graduate with a bachelor's degree.

The above is some impressive accounting and just what the voters want to hear.

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