Saturday Stats
$4.2M: Amount of funding the federal government has cut from Springfield’s Clark County in the past year. That’s before the economic gut-punch of pushing thousands of Haitian immigrants out of the labor force — as the Trump administration aims to do by stripping them of their Temporary Protected Status. This week, a federal judge blocked […]
Saturday Stats
In our previous issue, we paid tribute to Michael Charney and Rick McHugh. This week we published Zach Schiller’s remembrance of Michael, and shared reflections on Rick and his legacy from Zach and others who knew him. 9%: The meager percentage of workers who would actually benefit from “no tax on overtime.” The largest benefits […]
Saturday Stats
We are deeply saddened by the passing of educator, activist, and Policy Matters co-founder Michael Charney. We remain profoundly grateful and humbled to be one part of the immeasurable impact he and C.J. Prentiss had on the world. A retired Cleveland teacher, Michael devoted nearly 75 years to the transformative work of educating, organizing, and making peaceful change. With C.J., his beloved partner in life and purpose, Michael shaped the course of innumerable lives, including that of his friend, Scott Stephens, who offered this remembrance. We hope that in Michael’s memory, those who were moved […]
Saturday Stats
33%: Percent reduction in the child care workforce in the state since 2019. And these numbers will likely not improve anytime soon with the lackluster child care provisions in the state budget, including the most harmful changes that were snuck in at the end of the process with no opportunity for public input. Work and […]
Saturday Stats
$7.25: The subminimum hourly wage for youth under 16 in Ohio. That’s one (awful) reason lawmakers supported S.B. 50, which would have rolled back child labor protections by extending work hours for kids ages 14-15. Last month, the legislature sent the bill to Gov. DeWine, who took his sweet time to consider whether Ohio should […]
Saturday Stats
$1.1T: Cuts to federal funding for health care in the next decade, made by Congress in H.R. 1 — which even the president has stopped calling “beautiful.” That includes the largest Medicaid funding cut in history. $187B: Cuts to SNAP funding in the next decade, also made in the federal budget, also the program’s largest […]
Saturday Stats
23.3%: Amount by which the average residential electricity bill in Ohio increased in July 2025 over the previous year — the third-largest increase in the country. That spike was driven in large part by increased demand from data centers, massive facilities necessary for digital technologies ranging from artificial intelligence to cryptocurrency. We’ve been getting a lot […]
Saturday Stats
20-25%: Share of electricity Ohio imports from other states via the regional transmission grid managed and operated by PJM Interconnection. House Bill 427 could help reduce that reliance — and your electric bill — by allowing Ohioans to opt into demand response programs. Customers who do so will have their electricity use temporarily reduced during […]
Saturday Stats
70%: Share of respondents to our survey of felony-impacted Ohioans (conducted in partnership with Building Freedom Ohio) who reported experiencing at least one conviction-related denial of employment or getting fired from a job after a background check. The Get Rehabilitated Ohioans Working (GROW) Act could help more people get back to work after a conviction […]
Saturday Stats
75.3%: Amount by which Ohio workers are more productive than their counterparts in 1979. 18.5%: Amount by which Ohio workers’ median pay has increased in that same period. That’s a lot of additional value generated by people who aren’t getting their fair share of the profits. It’s just one example in this year’s State of […]
Saturday Stats
25: Policy Matters is celebrating 25 years of working for a more vibrant, equitable, sustainable, and inclusive Ohio. Please join our staff and board on September 30th for a casual open house in Cleveland to celebrate our accomplishments, stand in solidarity, and connect with each other. You can RSVP and find out all the details […]
Saturday Stats
$600M: Amount of Ohioans’ tax dollars already paid to Intel as part of the chip-maker’s contract with the state — in return for which we were promised two massive, job-creating factories in New Albany. We’ve already given Intel that money, and promised them more, plus infrastructure investments to help them out. But Intel just keeps […]