Right Direction, Wrong Speed

ducation equals prosperity – Over the last three decades, median wages have fallen in Ohio and growth in our education levels has not kept up with increases in other states. A national report released by the Economic Analysis and Research Network finds aclear correlation between the educational attainment of a state’s workforce and median wages, providing more evidence that Ohio needs to up its investment in education. Bringing in the bucks – Our evaluation found that the Cuyahoga County EITC Coalitionserved more than 10,900 residents in 2013, and brought more than $14.2 million in tax refunds to the county. Led by Enterprise Community Partners, this coalition of social service agencies, community groups, and government entities provides free tax preparation for low- and middle-income families. About one-third of Coalition clients got the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable federal credit that mostly helps working families with children. Right direction, wrong speed – July’s growth of 5,300 jobs was positive, but far from where Ohio needs to be. In the four years since the end of the 2007 recession, according to our statement on the latest job numbers, Ohio has added only 167,700 jobs; just to recapture what was lost, the state needs to gain more than 207,000 jobs.