Strengthen Public Schools
The Toledo Blade Gov. John Kasich’s all-cuts budget would afflict public schools in northwest Ohio and across the state in distressing and mutually reinforcing ways. The governor’s education proposals should give even lawmakers of his own Republican Party pause
David Rothstein comments on Refund Anticipation Loans in Mother Jones
Mother Jones JOHN HEWITT WASN’T seeking to turn the working poor into cash cows when his father and some friends helped him buy a six-store tax-service chain in Virginia Beach back in 1982. A 33-year-old college dropout who’d recently left his post as a regional director for H&R Block, Hewitt bought the Mel Jackson Tax […]
Policy Matters cited in The Economist
Time for second thoughts? A backlash against Republican attacks may be under way The Economist It is hard to get away from the subject of union rights in the Midwest these days. Protesters agitating against moves to curb them could be heard booing and chanting throughout the “state-of-the-state” speech delivered this week by John Kasich, the […]
Closed for Accountability, Opened for Cash
The Journal Gazette State Superintendent Tony Bennett told an audience at Hebron High School this week that charter schools should be closed if they don’t perform well. So I wonder if this charter school closing in Ohio would pass muster in Indiana? Policy Matters Ohio issued a news release last month noting the unusual evolution […]
Absence of Oversight
Ohio.com A voucher program makes sense for students with autism. Now the state must ensure that the program works Medical surveys in recent years show sharp increases in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. In Ohio, the number has soared from 1,046 children in 1998 to nearly 13,500 in 2009. The demand […]
Out of Control – Charter School Governing Boards Lack Control
The Akron Beacon Journal Charter school governing boards have a problem. They lack the necessary authority over charter school operators The governing boards of 10 Ohio charter schools filed a lawsuit this spring, putting the spotlight on state laws regarding governance of the tax-funded schools. The boards contended that changes in state law in 2006 […]
Watch Director Amy Hanauer discuss compensation in the public sector on Ohio public television
The State of Ohio Episode #1029 WVIZ There have now been six executions this year, and for the second time this year, there are signs that there may have been problems carrying out the death sentence. Usually, endorsements are good news for candidates. But for the second time in a month, an endorsement has come […]
Amy Hanauer Debates on the State of Ohio
Amy Hanauer debates with Matt Mayer on Ohio public sector compensation. Watch her in The State of Ohio with host Karen Kasler, a weekly news program spotlighting the latest happenings at the Statehouse, in the Governor’s office, at the Ohio Supreme Court and throughout the Buckeye State. Scroll to 7:45 to watch our director Amy Hanauer […]
Ohio Coalition Forms to Fight Wage Theft
A statewide Ohio coalition to fight wage theft and independent contractor misclassification emerged from a meeting in Columbus on May 11 sponsored by the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center and Policy Matters Ohio. About 60 people, including lawyers, union officials, low?income and immigrant?rights advocates and policy researchers, as well as state legislators and Ohio and U.S. […]
RTA needs state and federal operating support to keep buses in the drivers’ seat
The Cleveland Plain Dealer The numerous service cuts and job layoffs proposed by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority couldn’t come at a worse time. Riders who still have jobs need to get to work. Riders without jobs need public transit to help find one. And no one wants to see bus drivers and mechanics […]
Amy Hanauer and Susan Helper meet with Joe Biden on task force initiative
Policy Matters Executive Director Amy Hanauer and Board Secretary Susan Helper met today with Vice President Joe Biden as part of his middle class task force initiative. Hanauer and Helper were panelists in a discussion on promoting American manufacturing in the 21st century. Click here to view more information about the event.
Rent to Own Stores Challenged
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