Cuyahoga County is engaging in what Today in Ohio podcast hosts call “voodoo” economics by banking on inflation-driven consumer spending to rescue its troubled budget —a risky strategy that overlooks basic expenses while assuming struggling households will continue to spend at higher rates.

County officials are looking to increased sales tax receipts to pull their distressed 2026-2027 budget into balance, after discovering they’re already $5 million in the red before accounting for newly uncovered expenses.

“County officials think strong consumer spending and more specifically the higher sales tax receipts that come along with it might be the way to pull their distressed 2026-2027 budget back into the right balance,” said Courtney Astolfi. Rather than cutting expenses, officials are

See Full Page