Ohioans are out of work at rates not seen for more than a quarter century. Many who are working have had to accept cuts in pay, reductions in hours or unpaid furloughs. Some have stopped seeking work because they fear no jobs exist, others hang on to part-time jobs though
The just-passed federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will relieve need and help halt the economic hurricane that is devastating Ohio. Lower-income families and distressed communities have been especially hard hit by layoffs and foreclosures and have fewer paths to recovery. The stimulus provides a long-overdue chance to make a
With billions of dollars in federal Recovery Act spending coming to Ohio, Policy Matters Ohio and Community Research Partners urged state policymakers to invest in programs that will give struggling low- income families and unemployed workers new opportunities to succeed economically. The groups asked Governor Strickland and Ohio legislators to
Recent Presentation Tuesday December 16th, 2008, 1:00-3:00 p.m.The Gallery at Trinity Cathedral,2021 E. 22nd St. (corner of Euclid and 22nd)Free Parking – Enter off Prospect Panelists & Speakers include: Michael Ettlinger, Vice President for Economic Policy, Center for American Progress, Amy Hanauer, Executive Director, Policy Matters Ohio, Stuart Acuff, Organizing
Since our arrival on the scene eight years ago, Policy Matters has warned about an economy that excessively compensated the wealthiest while leaving out low- and middle-income workers. We noted the frightening spike in foreclosures and demanded better regulation. We’ve raised caution about underinvestment in people, infrastructure and alternative energy,
Ohio was, in most ways that matter, left out of the national economic expansion over the past six years. As the country heads back into recession, the gains for working families, nationally and especially in Ohio, have been disappointing to say the least. This Labor Day 2008 report from Policy
When more than 500 people in Kent, Ohio got a gastrointestinal virus last April, the community incurred substantial costs. Like most Ohio restaurants, the Chipotle restaurant where nearly all of the victims caught norovirus didn’t provide paid sick days. This report takes a look at the costs of this virus,
Interviews with business owners and employees reveal strong evidence of the need for paid sick days in Ohio. Currently more than 2.2 million Ohio workers have no paid sick days and 3.3 million cannot use paid sick days to care for a sick child or parent. A coalition in Ohio
After decades of disappointing wage growth and startling inequality increases, a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), released locally by Policy Matters Ohio, shows that unionization reduces inequality and significantly boosts the wages of low-wage workers in Ohio and the United States. The Union Advantage
Keeping the Promise? examines one of the most complex reforms in education: charter schools. In this wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection of essays published by Rethinking Schools in collaboration with the Center for Community Change, authors including Policy Matters Ohio director Amy Hanauer and nationally known educators Ted Sizer and Linda
The gap between the richest and poorest families and between the richest and middle-income families grew in Ohio over the past two decades, according to a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute, released in Ohio by Policy Matters Ohio Pulling Apart:
Young, broke and on your own in Ohio
Ohio’s young adults are coming of age in a tough economy, ravaged by a deep recession and further damaged by 30 years of declining opportunity and security for all but the most highly educated and affluent. Economic opportunity for young Ohioans has expanded in some important areas — such as