Numeric news from Policy Matters
$3 to $5: Estimated average weekly savings per driver during the 12-week “Gas Tax Holiday” that was rushed through the legislature and signed by Gov. DeWine this week. That’s roughly enough to cover an additional gallon of gas per week, or potentially enough for one more tank of gas come January, when the holiday ends.
100%: Share of counties in Ohio where the cost of living for a single adult is higher than the minimum wage. In other words, every little bit helps — but HB 519’s Gas Tax Holiday may do more harm than good…
$725M: Estimated cost of the tax holiday, to be paid for out of a state budget “surplus.” Of course, when legislators have chosen to underfund public schools by $2.75 billion, calling it a surplus is at best only technically true. And with massive federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP looming, you’d think legislators would want to hold some money in reserve, if only to make sure the millions of Ohioans who depend on those programs aren’t cut off from healthcare and food.
$20M: Roughly the amount of that “surplus” that will remain after subtracting the cost of HB 519 from the amount of unobligated funds the Office of Budget and Management estimated in its September report. For a state budget, that’s about as much cushion as you get in the bleachers at a Browns game — especially when you consider that just one tax cut currently moving through the legislature would cost the state upwards of $600M next year.*
~60: Combined number of minutes the Ohio House and Senate spent debating HB 519 before passing it, circumventing discussion of more effective, long-term solutions to the high cost of living and generally inadequate pay for working people in Ohio. If only they could bring a similar sense of urgency to lowering the cost of childcare, or electricity, or higher education, or protecting working people’s right to organize, or raising the minimum wage, or enacting a property tax circuit breaker, or making the state EITC refundable to put money into the pockets of working people — any one of which would do more to make Ohio affordable than a 12-week gas tax holiday.
Action items
Mahoning Valley friends: Join us at Westside Bowl in Youngstown for a conversation with our State of Working Ohio team. We’ll discuss how state-level policy decisions impact the Mahoning Valley, and how to make the economy work for working people. Free pizza starts at 6:00, conversation from 6:30-8:00. It’s all happening on October 15! Please RSVP so we know how much pizza to order!
Our friends PUPS (Parents United for Public Schools) continue their tour of school districts, bringing together parents, teachers, students, administrators, and other members of school communities to discuss funding for public schools, and how to restore Fair School Funding Plan. Registration is open for the following events—attend a PUPS Town Hall near you!
- Oct. 6 in Elyria: The Cost of Shortchanging Lorain County Schools
- Oct. 8 in North Canton: The Cost of Shortchanging Stark County Schools
Stay tuned for more — and follow PUPS on Instagram for all the latest.
Lame duck is an opportunity for legislators to act on data centers (and more)