Patton op-ed: Ohio won’t get ahead by standing still

Op-ed in The Toledo Blade calls for Ohio to invest in public services.

Ohio’s lack of investment in public services has left us running in place for 10 years, Senior Project Director Wendy Patton writes in The Toledo Blade.

Accounting for inflation, state spending through 2017 is at a lower level than it was a decade ago, when the Great Recession began. State revenues that rebounded after the recession were given away in tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest Ohioans. Because of these tax cuts, recovery has been slow and incomplete.

Across Ohio, poverty is stuck at levels far higher than before the recession. But neither our services for the most vulnerable Ohioans nor services that broaden opportunity have been restored to a level that can make a difference.