After less than two months, the honeymoon is certainly over for new Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

The GOP leader is already under fire for his efforts to trim the state budget in part by addressing compensation of public employees and the unions to which many of them are members.

Much of the anger has been directed at the Republican Party’s initiatives that are wrapped up in Senate Bill 5, a proposal that would make significant changes to the benefits given to public employees, a move the governor says would get the compensation back in line with the private sector.

Although much work needs to be done and the current proposal includes a number of overreaching flaws, the governor is on the right track to start addressing Ohio’s problems that continue to bankrupt local governments and hinder business growth.

The state is facing as much as a $8 billion budget shortfall. This didn’t happen overnight and some of the blame certainly falls on the Strickland administration and the past General Assembly for doing little to change how the state operates and relying too much on federal stimulus monies that were a one-time Band-Aid.

Kasich and the Republicans certainly aren’t going to be popular and are likely to make lots of enemies along the way but starting this type of dialogue is a step forward for the state. Hopefully it is a sign that there will be no more sacred cows.

If the state is truly going to return to its business-friendly past and grow, then looking at everything must be on the table.