In the first comprehensive overview of how the states are reporting on their use of Federal Stimulus Funds, the national research group Good Jobs First reviews and ranks the official Recovery Act websites of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It evaluates the quality of each state’s online reporting about Recovery Act highway projects. The ratings cover issues such as the inclusion of data on job creation, contract awards and the geographic distribution of stimulus spending within a state. Ohio receives a score of 40 for its ARRA website, putting it in a tie for 10th place among the states. It scores roughly the same in ARRA highway reporting, getting a score of 38 (a tie for 26th place).

The Recovery Act extends or expands unemployment compensation for millions of Americans, provides support to ensure that states can meet essential obligations, and funds infrastructure investments. We can better measure the Act’s success if there is easy access to clear information about how much has been spent and on what, and about which portions of the spending have done most to create jobs, increase equity, improve energy efficiency, and stimulate the economy.

See how the states are doing in distribution and disclosure here:

Press Release – Ohio

Full Report and state data

The federal stimulus act is paying extended or extra unemployment compensation benefits to hundreds of thousands of Ohioans and adding $30 million to the state economy each week. At the same time, it also is saving money for the state and Ohio’s employers. This report details the ways in which the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is bolstering families and communities across Ohio through new and expanded UC programs. At the same time, it notes there is more Ohio can do to take advantage of the act.

Press Release

Executive Summary

Full Report

by Wendy Patton, in The Middletown Journal

“This is a moment to create jobs in America.” 

One after another, the federal representatives spoke about climate change from the floor of the House, where they were engaged in an historic debate over the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.”

The debate over the past three months has clarified the issues raised in their speeches. We heard that an increase in global warming portends strife and suffering on an unimaginable scale. We heard that the Department of Defense is deeply concerned about the potential for conflict and about our dependence on foreign oil. And we heard the hope and hunger and fears about jobs in a new clean energy economy.

It’s about clean energy, about energy independence, but most of all, it’s about jobs.

Recently, several members of the Ohio congressional delegation, including Representatives Space and Boccieri, took a major step toward capturing clean energy markets for Ohio production. They inserted into the climate proposal the language from Senator Brown’s “Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act of 2009. This would provide $30 billion in capital and technical assistance for firms retooling for clean energy markets and energy efficiency. With this, the climate proposal becomes a commitment to rebuild our manufacturing base.

Ohio is a place that has borne the brunt of industrial transformation.

Since 1970, Ohio’s manufacturing jobs have vanished by the hundreds of thousands. Shuttered plants litter the landscape. From Youngstown to Dayton, highway exchanges that once took thousands to work are now roads to nowhere. A climate change proposal, with provisions to help manufacturers gain access to capital and measures to address fair trade, is Ohio’s best chance to turn this around.

The manufacturing provision will provide $15 billion each year in 2010 and 2011 for small and medium sized manufacturers to retool and upgrade their facilities. When was the last time the federal government invested in the industrial base to create American jobs? Our elected representatives have created an opportunity Ohio needs to seize.

Policy Matters Ohio convenes the Ohio Apollo Alliance, which promotes the Green Manufacturing Action Program, to ensure clean energy jobs come to American firms. The key parts of the GreenMAP, like the amendment

Space and Boccieri supported, includes the following elements:

• Direct federal funding for manufacturers to retool their facilities and retrain their workers to develop, produce and commercialize clean energy technologies.
• Domestic content and labor standards to ensure that firms receiving federal support create jobs that pay a family-supporting wage here at home.
• Increased funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership to expand its role in strengthening the clean energy supply chain.
• Increased funding for the Green Jobs Act to retrain workers for new green jobs.
• A presidential task force on clean energy manufacturing to make production of clean energy systems and components a national priority.

In our 2005 report on job potential of renewable energy “Generating Energy, Generating Jobs,” Policy Matters Ohio demonstrated that Ohio could garner more green jobs than 47 other states given domestic commitment to renewable energy and a set of policies that support domestic manufacturing. Ohio can be a winner because of the unique structure of our industrial base: dense networks of upstream and downstream suppliers in close proximity to research and development facilities, supporting logistics, financiers with a history in new market development, a well-trained work force and strong post-secondary training facilities.

Last year was a brutal one for Ohio workers. We need new jobs and reinvestment. For that reason, our lawmakers must seize the opportunity presented in the climate change discussions.

This briefing paper outlines key provisions of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) that will help domestic manufacturers capture new markets and create and retain jobs. We find that the ACES legislation, sometimes referred to as the carbon cap, will also reduce the price impact for manufacturing-intensive firms, so that they can transition to an economy in which traditional energy is likely to cost more. Support for business will total about 60 percent of the value of the proposed cap and trade program. Ohio could be one of the largest recipients of a $30 billion program designed to help small- and medium-sized firms retool to produce for clean energy markets and retrofit for greater energy efficiency. A competitive grant program for the states would be focused on automotive communities and communities with high unemployment rates. With these supports, carbon cap is a good deal for Ohio.

Press Release

Full Report

Budget blues - Like many others, Policy Matters was deeply disappointed in the state budget. The dismal economy, combined with refusal to consider raising taxes, resulted in devastating cuts to mental health, early childhood, child abuse prevention and other essentials. We weighed in with ways to restore revenue in editorials, here and here. There were some good elements of the budget – some education reform, smaller cuts to libraries than initially threatened, and expansions of health care coverage – but stories of the suffering have already begun rolling in, and the end result will be a less prosperous, equitable and sustainable state.

Rent to Own - For customers with limited savings, rent-to-own stores offer a tempting way to obtain appliances and furniture immediately but shoppers usually ultimately pay a price that is several times the worth of the item. A recently released Policy Matters study found that rent-to-own stores charge up to 4.5 times what is charged in regular retail stores for items like stoves, refrigerators and washer-dryers. The paper surveys local rent- to-own stores, maps these stores in Ohio, compares prices to those in retail stores, and compares Ohio law to the law in other states. Ohio ranks third in the country in number of these stores. We got good coverage of the paper, which ends with proposals to better protect Ohio consumers.

Countering the recession -  The federal stimulus act is paying extended or extra unemployment compensation benefits to hundreds of thousands of Ohioans and adding $30 million to the state economy each week. At the same time, it also is saving money for the state and Ohio’s employers. This report details the ways in which the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is bolstering families and communities across Ohio through new and expanded UC programs. At the same time, it notes there is more Ohio can do to take advantage of the act.

Maximum IMPACT - The carbon cap that passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June can reduce use of polluting energy, increase use of renewables, and improve our efficiency. Happily for Ohio and for manufacturing, it also includes provisions to capture new green markets, to clean up manufacturing processes, and to help energy-intensive firms transition to a green economy. Senator Sherrod Brown introduced manufacturing supports as a separate Senate bill, then Ohio Congressmen John Boccieri and Zach Space made sure they were included in the carbon cap. This briefing paper provides a county-by-county interactive map of the more than 3,000 firms (with more than 250,000 current workers), that could tap into new green markets with this help. A second interactive map highlights energy intensive firms that could get help cleaning their processes. A related paper outlines key provisions of the bill that will help domestic manufacturers capture new markets and create and retain jobs.

Seniors Speak - Our research director Zach Schiller will join Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, several U.S. senate candidates and others at a breakfast forum on issues facing older Ohioans on Thursday August 13 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Warrensville Heights Senior and Civic Center on 4567 Green Road. Questions? Call Wynne at 216-881-7200.

Go Joe - Policy Matters executive director Amy Hanauer, board member Sue Helper, and various high level officials met with Vice President Joe Biden as part of his middle class task force initiative. Hanauer and Helper presented ideas to promote American manufacturing and restore good jobs to Ohio communities. Held at Willard and Kelsey Solar Group, a research and manufacturing plant near Toledo, the discussion highlighted how progressive energy policy can generate good jobs, reduce the use of polluting and foreign fuel, and promote a more stable environment and economy. 

That’s all!
The Policy Matters Ohio Team