WOOSTER, Ohio - For the past two days, Gov. John Kasich has told rooms full of Ohio business professionals and local-government officials about his proposals to privatize some state prisons, the liquor department and economic development.
Today, Kasich has a different audience for the same speech - analysts from Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch bond-rating agencies.
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Lower bond ratings can make it more expensive for the state to borrow money. Higher ratings are typically tied to growth or evidence of future growth.
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Kasich will tell rating analysts today that his budget proposal would recalibrate the state's finances. But he'll also have to satisfy them that his proposals to privatize state assets, realign Medicaid and cut funding to local governments would set Ohio on the right path.
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