Saturday Stats: forging ahead
Posted November 17, 2018 in eNews
1.5 million+: That’s how many Ohioans voted for sentencing reform last week. Although Issue 1 didn’t pass, there is energy in Ohio to reform policies that pack our prisons with nonviolent offenders and allow our drug epidemic to spiral out of control. Leaders in the General Assembly pledged to introduce legislation that, among other things, would reclassify low-level drug possession felonies as misdemeanors. We look forward to working with lawmakers and advocates to find a solution.
$473: If Ohio lawmakers reform the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), 35 percent of Ohio’s poorest workers could get an average tax cut of $473. That would send more than $427.5 million back to families and local economies. Ohio’s credit is one of the weakest in the nation – and 95 percent of the poorest Ohioans don’t get it. Read Hannah Halbert’s report on how we can improve Ohio’s EITC and give more hardworking families a boost.
10,900: Ohio added 10,900 jobs in October – a big improvement over September. That could push the state’s 12-month job growth rate to 2.1 percent, which would make 2018 the first year since 2010 that Ohio outperformed the nation in job growth. Unfortunately, workers of color are still lagging behind. The unemployment rate for Ohio’s black workers is 6.9 percent compared to 4.6 percent for white workers
$4: The typical Ohio worker who belongs to a union makes $4 more an hour – or $8,000 more a year – than workers who don’t. Protecting working people’s ability to speak up together is an important way we can help more Ohioans share in growing prosperity. This week, Rep. John Becker (R-Cincinnati) testified in favor of a so-called “right to work” bill that would gut Ohio’s unions. Our friends in the labor movement showed up in force to let him know how they felt.
Researcher Michael Shields standing up for Ohio workers at an anti-wage theft rally in Cleveland.
$5.5 billion: The Ohio General Assembly’s Tax Expenditure Review Committee (TERC) rubber stamped 15 sales tax breaks worth $5.5 billion, even though we pointed out a much closer review was needed.
20,000: Governor-elect Mike DeWine says he wants to help at least 20,000 more kids access child care and make sure every early-education center in Ohio is high quality. The devil is in the details, but this is something we could get behind. Our research shows that too few Ohio families can afford high quality child care.
8,400: That’s how many Arkansans lost health coverage in September and October because of new barriers to Medicaid. DeWine favors a similar proposal for Ohio. If he moves forward with a plan to block Ohioans from the health care they need, we will make sure Ohioans understand the consequences.
11:30 am: That’s when you can catch Wendy Patton on Columbus Channel 10’s “Face the State” tomorrow (Sunday). She’ll be talking about how to clean up Ohio’s tax code, Governor Kasich’s legacy and policies that support women balance the demands of work and family.