May 2007 News from Policy Matters Ohio: Join us this Thursday
Posted May 20, 2007 in eNews
Two days left to save the planet – This week, Policy Matters joins the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University to bring in Jerome Ringo, President of the Apollo Alliance, as he presents Building a Renewable Energy Economy, a forum in the “Our Place in the Urban Age” series. This forum on sustainability and the energy economy will take place on Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 4 p.m. in the atrium of the Levin College of Urban Affairs on 1717 Euclid Avenue. Ringo, a former union worker and activist in the petrochemical industry became the first African American to lead a major conservation organization, as chair of the board of the World Wildlife Fund. He is a dynamic speaker who brings together the concerns of working people, energy activists, and low-income communities.
China Slams Ohio – Robert Scott at The Economic Policy Institute reports in Costly Trade with China that Ohio was the 8th hardest hit state in terms of job displacement since China entered the World Trade Organization. That amounts to around 66,100 jobs since 2001. You can read more about the effect of trade with China on the U.S. economy here.
Teach them well and let them lead the way – In his new book, Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation: Public Investment in High-Quality Prekindergarten, Robert Lynch reports that the benefits of investing in early childhood programs — on the economy, crime statistics, and future government revenues — far outweigh the costs of implementing such programs. Policy Matters Ohio partnered with the Economic Policy Institute and Voices for Ohio’s Children to condense this national study into a concise summary of how Ohio wins with better pre-K investments. Find the report and the the Policy Matters Ohio Fact Sheet here.
Job Watch – We lost jobs again in April. We still have 175,900 jobs fewer than we had in January, 2001. See the sad stats here.
Unreserved – The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland invited Policy Matters to join a panel exploring the reasons for Ohio’s foreclosure explosion. Our director highlighted the role of predatory lending in fueling this horrific trend, which is devastating Ohio communities. You might have missed our most recent foreclosure research, released last March.
Internal workings – Policy Matters is thrilled to welcome a phenomenal crop of summer interns: Howard University’s Ruth Obaseki, Kent State’s Tom Kapfer, Duke University’s Andy Gaines, John Carroll University students Josh Marcin and Eric Metcalf, Ohio University students Mark Stovell, Jamie Smith and Thomas McAdams, and, all the way from Germany, Sara-Theresa Becker. We’re grateful to the sponsoring universities and the Economic Policy Institute for support to bring these brilliant young minds our way, and we can’t wait to unleash them on figuring out how to create an Ohio economy that works better for all.
You might have missed – Author Jon Cohn, pushing for universal health care at the City Club of Cleveland, co-hosted by Policy Matters. If so, you can still buy the book.
That’s all!
The Policy Matters Ohio Team