Saturday stats: Jobs and budgets. Budgets and jobs.
Posted March 23, 2019 in eNews
8,200: That’s how many jobs Ohio lost last month. This news comes on the heels of a major data revision that shows 2018 was one of the worst years since the Great Recession, according to Hannah Halbert. It’s just more proof that tax cuts and loopholes haven’t made Ohio’s economy stronger. Instead, Hannah says, we should be raising revenue to invest in our people and communities.
$49.5 million: Unlike the Ohio House that allocated $100 million for public transit in the Transportation Budget, the Senate decided it would zero it out, and put a far lesser amount into the separate, more volatile, General Revenue Fund. The Senate also slashed Governor DeWine’s proposed 18-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase to just 6 cents. This is a move in the wrong direction, especially following a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that shows that Ohio is woefully underinvesting in infrastructure, including public transit. The Transportation Budget goes to conference committee next week, where the House and Senate will sort out their different versions. In the meantime, you can help the cause by contacting your senator and members of the Senate leadership and tell them to put the $100 million for transit back in the Transportation Budget where it belongs. Ohio needs a more balanced transportation system made up not only of roads but also a complete network of transportation options including public transit and bike-able, walkable streets.
$33 billion: That’s how much federal funding comes to Ohio based on the U.S. Census count. That’s one of the many reasons Daniel Ortiz spoke out against the Trump proposal to include a question about citizenship status in the 2020 census. He said the question will skew an accurate count, intimidate immigrant communities and lead to lower participation.
315,000: Ohio just received federal approval for new restrictions on Medicaid that threaten health care for 315,000 people. If implemented, the rules would require anyone who is covered under Medicaid expansion complete oodles of paperwork to demonstrate that they work at least 80 hours a month or are exempt. The problem is, as Wendy Patton notes, most people covered by Medicaid who can work, do. And many of them work in low-paying jobs with irregular schedules, like Wal-Mart and McDonalds, who won’t guarantee these workers are offered 80 hours of work per month.
$82 million: That’s how much money Ohio gave to General Motors in 2006, on the promise that the company would keep its Lordstown plant open for at least 30 years. Surprise! They only made it to year 13. Mike Shields writes that Ohio needs smart policies to support the Lordstown community and prevent similar closures in the future.
$1.9 trillion: Even though it’s the largest federal budget ever proposed, the Trump budget would slash $1.9 trillion from programs that alleviate poverty and expand opportunity. If it passes, thousands of Ohioans are in danger of losing health care and help paying for food, Wendy said.
$256 million: That’s the minimum Victoria Jackson says is needed to provide wraparound services to at-risk students in Ohio’s K-12 public schools.
As Wendy points out, Governor DeWine’s budget proposal shows some promise, especially where children are concerned. But to really meet Ohio’s needs, it needs to go further. For example, DeWine’s budget doesn’t reform Ohio’s earned income tax credit. The money is there to pay for the things we need, Like Zach Schiller says, we can just close the $1 billion LLC Loophole, or at least some of the loopholes within the loophole.
500,000+ Ohio children live in poverty. Kalitha Williams joined fellow members of the Ohio Children’s Budget Coalition to urge lawmakers to fix Ohio’s Earned Income Tax Credit so more children are lifted out of poverty. Since then, we got some good news. The Senate took some steps to improve Ohio’s ETIC. Yay! (Still more work to do, though.)
40,000: That’s how many jobs Cleveland’s leaders hoped would be created if Amazon located its headquarters in the city. Amy Hanauer told WEWS Channel 5 that the best strategy to attract big tech firms like Amazon is investing in education.