Senators move to double value and expand eligibility for giant tax breaks for the wealthiest
Ohio Lawmakers ponder sweetening the pot for wealthy investors, yet refuse to commit to long-term, fair funding of public schools Ohio Senators are hearing testimony on Senate Bill 225, which would boost tax breaks for wealthy capital gains investors and developers, expand eligibility beyond Ohio investors and allow the tax benefits to flow to entities […]
Bills that would largely eliminate cash bail would improve Ohioans’ health and wellbeing
On any given day, as many as 12,600 Ohioans are held in jail as they await trial,compared to 3,000 in 1978 — driven mostly by bail set by local courts, even though overall crime rates have gone down. Today a coalition of advocates, experts, and community members called on the Ohio General Assembly to pass […]
Clevelanders chose change. Now city government must deliver
Yesterday, Clevelanders elected Justin Bibb, a nonprofit executive, to serve as the city’s next mayor. They also elected several new people to serve on city council and passed a transformative ballot initiative that will increase community oversight of police. Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Hannah Halbert releases the following statement: “Clevelanders from all corners of […]
Unemployment comp bill would cover nearly 600,000 Ohioans
U.S. Senate measure would replace the state’s stringent earnings test A bill now pending in the U.S. Senate could allow nearly 600,000 Ohioans who are not currently eligible to qualify for unemployment compensation (UC) benefits if they are laid off. That is a key finding of a report Policy Matters Ohio issued today. It reviewed […]
Child tax credit immediately reduces hunger and hardship for Ohio families
In March, Congress temporarily expanded the child tax credit in the American Rescue Plan. On July 15, tens of millions of families across the nation received their first of several monthly child tax credit payments. New Policy Matters analysis of data from the Census Household Pulse survey shows the direct payments have already taken some […]
Fair School Funding Plan would increase resources for schools in Black & brown communities
New analysis from Policy Matters Ohio shows that the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) included in the most recent two-year state budget would increase state resources sent to all schools and help make up for glaring racial inequality under the old funding system. The analysis shows that schools where students are mostly white — and […]
New census data shows poverty up, incomes down in 2020, government aid helped
Policy Matters releases statement with preliminary analysis, more to come Today, the Census Bureau released the highly anticipated 2020 income and poverty data. Last year, 11.4% of Americans lived below the official poverty line ($26,496) — an increase of 1 percentage point over 2019, when the poverty rate was 10.5%. Last year marks the first […]
“State of Working Ohio” documents COVID’s uneven impact on working Ohioans
En Español The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped Ohio’s economy, forcing hundreds of thousands of Ohioans out of the workforce and exacerbating racial, gender and income inequality, according to Policy Matters Ohio’s annual report on Ohio’s workforce. “The State of Working Ohio 2021: Meeting the moment” demonstrates the importance of government policies not only in protecting […]
State budget diverts more than $9 billion a year to special-interest tax giveaways
As they eliminated the committee that scrutinizes state tax expenditures, Ohio lawmakers passed a 2022-23 state budget that expanded the $9 billion the state spends every year on tax breaks. A new report by Policy Matters Ohio shows that the state budget signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in July includes a host of new and […]
Appeals court decides in favor of unemployed Ohioans
It’s a win for jobless workers, but more action needed to restore benefits The Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals today reversed a trial court decision and ruled that state law calls for Ohio to continue paying the $300-a-week Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits cut off by Gov. Mike DeWine in June. It ruled […]
Appeal of unemployment benefit cut-off gets support
An appeal brought by unemployed Ohio workers seeking to reinstate the federal $300-a-week unemployment benefit cut off by Gov. Mike DeWine should be granted, according to a friend-of-the-court brief filed by Policy Matters Ohio and national leaders in legal and public advocacy for an equitable economy. “There is no justification for terminating Federal Pandemic Unemployment […]
Biden administration decision protects Ohioans’ health & well-being
Today the Biden administration announced it would withdraw approval of Ohio’s Medicaid work requirement waiver. Policy Matters Ohio Senior Project Director Wendy Patton released the following statement: “Today, as the COVID pandemic continues to make Ohioans sick, the Biden administration refused Gov. DeWine’s proposal to erect new barriers to the state’s largest health care program, […]