The federal government provides more than two-thirds of the funding for some of Ohio’s health and human services agencies and programs. While programs generally have sufficient funds to provide services through October, a shutdown that drags into November threatens a range of services, from TANF to Head Start, WIC and
The new state budget increases the General Revenue Fund by $4.5 billion over two years, but did not restore key investments to 2010-11 levels. The budget also cut taxes by $1.9 billion, shifting taxation from the affluent to those with less income and making it harder to adequately fund critical
The decline in state support has caused cutbacks to local government services and employment. According to numbers distributed by the Kasich administration, state support for local governments ??” separate from school funding ??” is down by nearly $1 billion, or 10 percent, between fiscal years 2010-11 and the two years
We can expect to see continued loss of local services, from dimmed streetlights to closed pools, curtailed senior services and furloughed police and firefighters. This hurts families and may erode property values. Instead we should support localities and boost the Ohio economy.
In the 1960s, the United States began, as a nation, to better recognize that elderly Americans were vulnerable to neglect and abuse, and to establish ways of protecting the older members of our community. By providing good protection, we can reduce financial exploitation, health problems, hospitalization and suffering for older
The new tax proposal put forward as a part of the state budget will shift the tax load from affluent to lower- and middle-income taxpayers, while reducing Ohio’s ability to invest in its people.
“Silent epidemic” of abuse could be eased with relatively small investment Ohio provides vital services to protect vulnerable senior citizens, but state funding has dropped while need has increased, according to a new report by Policy Matters Ohio. The state relies more on federal funds than most other states, and
Representative Hagan’s proposal for a severance tax offers the largest producers a chance to join Ohio as good citizens, to set a good example for their suppliers, to pay their fair share, and to build a stronger Ohio.
Over the past 30 years, the enterprise zone program accomplished the opposite of what it was designed to accomplish. It facilitated the movement of jobs and investment away from distressed communities of high unemployment.
Across-the-board federal cuts will take $184 million out of Ohio’s budget in 2013. These cuts mean furloughed defense workers, cuts to county funds for social services, reductions to public health programs for teens and seniors alike, and ongoing loss of Head Start slots for preschoolers.
The new rule means that if Ohio doesn’t expand Medicaid, in 2014 Ohio’s safety net hospitals could lose more than $23 million in federal aid for the treatment of patients without insurance.
Budget shifting tax burden to low incomes
Ohio’s new budget bill makes our tax code less fair, raises less money than it should and misses opportunities for Ohioans. The budget shifts taxes from top earners to middle- and lower-income workers, increases the opportunity for tax avoidance and drains $2.7 billion from mental health, addiction treatment, senior centers,