Setting the Agenda: News from Policy Matters
Democratic gubernatorial candidates signal their unanimous support for clean energy and green jobs. Framing the debate: Democratic gubernatorial candidates had one last chance to make their case to Northeast Ohio last week. Joe Schiavoni, Richard Cordray, Dennis Kucinich and Bill O’Neill debated before a standing room only crowd in Cleveland Heights, where they articulated their […]
Raising our voices: News from Policy Matters
In the past two weeks, our crew has testified, held press conferences, spoken with young people, presented on academic panels, sponsored a documentary, and broadcast our policy recommendations on the radio. [image:2] Hannah Halbert (center) speaking at the Statehouse Restore the 40-hour week: Most full-time salaried workers in Ohio aren’t paid overtime, even when they […]
Working hard for Ohio’s workers: News from Policy Matters
Don’t let corporate franchisors off the hook: Under current law, franchisors and franchisees are jointly responsible for compliance with regulations that protect Ohio’s workers. We think it should stay that way. Corporate franchisors across the country disagree; they’re pushing bills like Ohio’s HB 494, which would specify that a corporate franchisor (think Burger King Corporation) […]
Manufacturing, minimum wage and Medicaid: News from Policy Matters
Manufacturing a High-Wage Ohio: This week, business owners, labor leaders, academics and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown came together to discuss ways to strengthen Ohio’s manufacturing sector. Policy Matters and the Century Foundation sponsored the event where we released a paper authored by Michael Shields. The major takeaways: Despite some difficult years, manufacturing remains a major […]
Stepping up and speaking out: News from Policy Matters
Work requirements still don’t work: Ohio is asking the federal government for permission to impose work requirements on the 700,000 people who receive health insurance through Medicaid expansion. Wendy Patton testified twice against the proposal. She said work requirements aren’t necessary, don’t make sense in today’s low-wage job market, put an unfair burden on patients […]
A way forward: News from Policy Matters
Fighting for Ohio’s working people: With threats to workers looming at both the state and national levels, Policy Matters went on the offensive this week and released “A new way forward: 10 ways to support Ohio’s working people.” Rampant inequality is a policy choice. We can choose policies that lift up all working people, not […]
News from Policy Matters: Taxes, democracy and tips
Defend kids: Federal programs help almost all of us in some way or another, but they are especially important for children. The GOP tax bill that passed at the end of last year grows the deficit and puts pressure on lawmakers to cut spending. We’ve created an interactive map and congressional district fact sheets that […]
Standing with workers: News from Policy Matters
Taking aim at Amazon: We found that one in 10 Amazon employees in Ohio make so little that they qualify for federal food aid. The national media was as shocked by the findings as we were and Zach Schiller’s report was featured in The Daily Beast, Newsweek, The New Republic and on Fox Business. On […]
Resisting in the New Year: News from Policy Matters
Goodbye 2017: Happy New Year from Policy Matters! Between policy fights, we made time to celebrate (see photo). We ended the year pushing back against the disastrous GOP tax bill. We didn’t prevail but we’re on the record showing how the plan will drain funding for Ohio schools and hurt families across the state. In […]
Unfinished business: News from Policy Matters
Unemployment debate unfinished: State lawmakers delayed action on the latest attempt to change Ohio’s unemployment compensation system. This bill is better than its predecessors, but would still take away too much in unemployment benefits. Prior to the delay, Zach Schiller and Hannah Halbert said Ohioans need more information about how the bill would work and […]
Standing up to the tax scam: News from Policy Matters
They call this reform? The U.S. Senate voted to approve a tax bill that would explode the deficit, give huge paydays to the top 1 percent and lead to devastating cuts to important programs like food aid, education and health care. We’ve been speaking out about why this plan is bad for Ohio and this […]
Happy Veteran’s Day: News from Policy Matters
Amy Hanauer participates on a panel for the City of Cleveland Thank you for your service: On Veteran’s Day, we’re pushing for policies that actually help veterans. The GOP tax and budget plans threaten to cut federal food aid for millions of Americans including 1.5 million veteran households, according to our national partner Center on […]