Loans at lower rates, harder to get
Chelsey Levingston Local homeowners able to refinance their mortgages at today’s record low interest rates could save hundreds of dollars on monthly payments, putting more money in their pockets to spend on other things. Fixed-interest-rate mortgages for 30-year loans in the U.S. had an average 3.79 percent interest rate as of Thursday, compared to an […]
VIDEO: Amy Hanauer on NEOtropolis “Call Me the Breeze”
Executive Director Amy Hanauer on Western Reserve Public Media’s “NEOtropolis” discussing the economic benefits of renewable energy. Interview starts at the 10:00 mark. NEOtropolis: Call Me the Breeze
Consumer debt surge highest since 2001: Why some say it’s good; why some say it’s bad in the deck, please
Randy Tucker Southwest Ohio residents continue to reach for their credit cards and sign off on auto loans at a brisk clip, boosting borrowing twice as fast as most economists had predicted. Total U.S. consumer credit grew by $21.36 billion in March, according to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve. That was the biggest […]
Manufacturing jobs coming back to Dayton, Midwest: A clear policy on specific categories will help U.S. rebuild, report says
Steve Bennish The U.S. can grow jobs with a clear national manufacturing policy that focuses on regional clusters of specialized companies such as those in machinery, composite materials, autos and aerospace in the Dayton metro area, a new report from the Brookings Institution said. Ohio had 620,000 manufacturing jobs by the end of 2010 despite […]
State, local education minds gather in North Royalton for roundtable
Scott Patsko A collection of people who shape education law in Ohio, and those most affected by it
Report: Valley depends on manufacturing
Burton Speakman The Mahoning Valley remains the part of Ohio most dependent on manufacturing, according to a national report. The report is by the Brookings Institution, which surveyed 100 metropolitan areas in the nation. Brookings is a nonprofit public-policy organization based in Washington, D.C. In the Valley, manufacturing jobs represent 12.6 percent of all jobs, […]
Voters support Kasich’s tax plan: Majority agree with plan to raise oil and gas taxes to offset an i
Jackie Borchardt Ohio voters are split on their support for Gov. John Kasich, but back his plan to raise oil and gas taxes to offset an income tax cut two-to-one, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. In March, Kasich proposed raising taxes on materials extracted from the ground and using that revenue to […]
Ohio must consider a fracking tax
Communities could gain with adequate tax rates, smaller tax breaks Revenue from a tax on fracking would help communities pay for the impact of this type of oil and natural gas drilling on their roads and services, turn streetlights back on, open senior centers and put supervisors back on playgrounds around the state, according to […]
Schools in crisis
Editorial Policy Matters Ohio released early this year findings from a survey of Ohio school finance officials showing “alarming levels of fiscal distress” in districts across the state. The Cleveland-based think tank found that roughly two-thirds of the respondents face budget shortfalls, and those projecting shortfalls above 5 percent had almost tripled since 2010. Hard-pressed […]
Consumer groups challenge payday loan prepaid cards
Sheryl Harris More than two dozen consumer groups want to block a bank’s partnership with CheckSmart, a payday lender based in the Columbus suburb of Dublin. The request to a federal regulator comes as CheckSmart’s parent company, Community Choice Financial Inc., prepares to launch an initial public stock offering. The consumer groups told the Office […]
Dirty and wasteful
Editorial Ohio voters associate dirty politics with negative television ads that fill the airwaves during close elections in this battleground state. Less obvious but just as dirty are efforts to suppress the vote by making it more difficult to register and gain access to the ballot. Across the country, Republicans have used legislative clout gained […]
Payday lender’s debit card criticized
Mark Williams CheckSmart has come under attack again from consumer groups for one of its products, just as its parent company prepares to take the Dublin-based payday lender public. The groups, led by the National Consumer Law Center, have complained to federal regulators about CheckSmart’s prepaid debit card, which they say allows the company to […]