Right now, in Columbus, legislators are debating the merits of increasing Ohio’s gas tax to invest more in Ohio’s roads, bridges and public transit systems. In the long term, better roads and public transit strengthen Ohio’s economy and help workers be more productive by making it easier for them to
As state policymakers contemplate raising the gas tax to fund much-needed repairs to Ohio’s highways and roads, Policy Matters Ohio asked the House Finance committee to set aside part of that new revenue to fund public transit. With a $1 billion hole in the transportation budget, Governor Mike DeWine proposed
Since Ohio accepted federal funds to expand Medicaid in 2014, the program has provided health insurance to more than 1 million Ohioans.[1] It has strengthened the state’s economy and put tens of thousands of Ohioans to work. Ohio will have almost 54,000 more full and part-time jobs in 2019 than
In 2016, 10 percent of Ohio neighborhoods were in areas of concentrated poverty — that’s a twofold increase over 2000, according to new analysis from Policy Matters Ohio. Ohio is one of the nation’s sickest states, and a growing body of research shows that living in segregated, impoverished areas is
Because of problems with America’s employment-based approach to health insurance, 640,000 Ohioans were uninsured in 2016. More than 60% of them were employed, but without employer-supported coverage. Four in 10 uninsured adults in Ohio worked full time. Employers limit eligibility by restricting employees to part-time or temporary status and implementing
Proposed changes to Ohio’s Medicaid expansion will threaten health care access for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. Estimates by the Kasich administration understate the severity of the cuts, which disproportionately affect people of color in urban centers across the state. Policy Matters Ohio senior researcher Amanda Woodrum finds more than
Ohio foreclosure filings decline, but remain substantially higher since housing crisis.
Ohio Senator Bill Seitz recently trumpeted forthcoming recommendations of a legislative committee to put Ohio’s clean-energy laws permanently on ice. Freezing Ohio clean-energy standards would be bad news for Ohio’s economy, jobs, electric consumers and the environment. But the Energy Mandates Study Committee appears ready to do just that in
Public transportation is not a priority in Ohio’s $7.6 billion transportation budget. Habitually, we spend less than 1 percent of our state transportation dollars on public transit, giving us the low ranking of 40th in the nation for our relative commitment to transit. Per person, Indiana spends 3.6 times more,
The Oberlin Project: Op-Ed by Amanda Woodrum
Despite the demise of federal climate change legislation, cities across the nation continue efforts started under the 2009 federal stimulus act to revitalize their communities and make them sustainable. One of the most inspiring examples is right here in Ohio. The Oberlin Project is a collaboration among the City of