Two (big) wins and some losses
In this eNews, we celebrate two great Ohio victories — Medicaid expansion and the new state Earned Income Tax Credit. We also highlight our budget overview, September Census data releases, weak jobs numbers for Ohio, and missed alternative transit opportunities in Cleveland. Enormous win – Monday’s Controlling Board decision to authorize using federal funds for […]
Making Ohio Stronger
Cuts hurt communities – Wendy Patton’s testimony before an Ohio House tax reform committee outlined how cuts in state aid have hurt local government services and employment. Numbers from the Kasich administration show that state support for local governments – separate from school funding – fell by nearly $1 billion, or 10 percent, between fiscal […]
Stuck
Stuck — Labor force participation in Ohio was at a 33-year low at the end of 2012, job growth since 2005 was fourth worst among states, and wages inched up just a penny from already-low levels. Described by the The Toledo Blade as “indispensable,” the latest edition of our annual State of Working Ohio report […]
Right Direction, Wrong Speed
ducation equals prosperity – Over the last three decades, median wages have fallen in Ohio and growth in our education levels has not kept up with increases in other states. A national report released by the Economic Analysis and Research Network finds aclear correlation between the educational attainment of a state’s workforce and median wages, […]
Getting By Gets Harder
Breaking up – The recently approved Ohio budget added more tax breaks than it got rid of and increased tax expenditures – a form of state spending that includes tax exemptions, credits and deductions – by several hundred million dollars a year, according to our new report. Leaving in these exemptions – many of which […]
Work sharing: a win for Ohio
Work sharing lets employers reduce everyone’s hours instead of laying people off, if that makes sense to both the employer and the workers. Policy Matters worked closely with lead sponsor Rep. Mike Duffey to shepherd this innovative reform through the Ohio General Assembly. It’s bad for workers and employers when a temporary downturn forces layoffs. […]
Six Great Clips
In this week’s eNews we highlight some of the great press coverage our research has been generating, including work by Wendy Patton, Amy Hanauer, Amanda Woodrum, Zach Schiller, and Hannah Halbert. Media mashup – Check out some great recent press, starting with an op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer by Wendy Patton. The piece, which ran […]
Breaking Bad
Affluence rewarded – Research Director Zach Schiller worked with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy to show that the state budget just passed will reward Ohio’s most affluent with average annual tax cuts of more than $6,000 a year, while low-income Ohioans will pay slightly more. Breaking bad – Rather than closely reviewing the […]
New Partners, No Surprises
In this week’s eNews — Ohio governor’s office supports industry sector partnerships, the Senate approves its version of the budget, and Policy Matters welcomes its summer interns. Picking partners – The Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation announced this week that it supports industry sector partnerships. This approach – which brings together employers, educators and training […]
New Normal?
n this week’s eNews — If the figures in our latest JobWatch report are Ohio’s new normal, the state’s in deep trouble; a few short pieces on the reasons Ohio should expand Medicaid; tax testimony by Zach Schiller, and; a forum related to work and jobs that’s worth a look. New normal? – Ohio added […]
A Better Way
Mapping a crisis – Ohio foreclosures remain at crisis levels, with 70,469 new filings in 2012. While this is a slight decrease from 2011, the number of filings remained more than four times higher than it was in the mid-1990s. Our new interactive map shows the number of filings and foreclosure rates by county, allowing […]
Shrinking Jobs, Shrinking Schools
No miracle – Ohio has the fourth-worst job creation record among states since June 2005, when we slashed taxes in the name of job creation. Since then, we’ve underperformed the nation in every sector, according to our comprehensive look at Ohio jobs. The country has added too few jobs since then, but Ohio has actually […]