Saturday stats: News by the numbers from Policy Matters
Posted April 06, 2019 in eNews
$70 million: That’s how much money for public transit the General Assembly added to the proposed General Revenue Fund (GRF). It’s a huge increase over transit funding and a victory for transit advocates and riders. But in the GRF, transit will be competing with other public services for funding. Historically, that competition hasn’t gone transit’s way, so the $70 million is likely to decline over the long haul. Amanda Woodrum explains why that money belongs in the more stable Transportation Budget, as Ohio’s House of Representatives originally proposed.
30%: The new Transportation Budget increases Ohio’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 30 percent of the federal credit. It also removes the income cap that prevented many working families from accessing the full value of their EITC. These are both big improvements, though they leave out working families who most need the cash infusion EITC provides. That’s because the reformed EITC remains nonrefundable. To learn more about why refundability is the most important element of an effective EITC, check out this report from Hannah Halbert.
134: The number of tax breaks on the books in Ohio, most of which go to moneyed interests. They aren’t all bad, but some are downright silly. See if you can make it through this report from Wendy Patton and Zach Schiller without shaking your head in wonder at how some of these tax breaks have survived.
480: The number of people who have taken our April Fools’ Day quiz about wacky Ohio policies, including some of the tax breaks in Wendy and Zach’s report.
100: The number of quiz-takers who scored 100%. It’s not as easy as you’d think!
$6.30: That’s the estimated return on investment for every $1 spent to expand preschool and child care in Ohio. In a recent blog post, Will Petrik gives us good news and bad: Governor DeWine’s proposed 2020-21 budget includes funds for higher quality child care, but none for increased eligibility.
$6 billion: Average amount of state revenue lost each year since 2005 due to tax cuts. The result has been chronic underfunding of services people count on. In the first Budget Bite of the season, Wendy Patton explores the question at the heart of Governor DeWine’s budget proposal: After almost 15 years of cutting corners, how do we repair the damage done to our state? The executive budget doesn’t have a good answer, but Wendy does.
Outreach Director Daniel Ortiz speaks at a rally in support of Cleveland janitors' fight for $15.
$11: Average hourly wage for Cleveland janitors, hundreds of whom are organizing with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 to fight for jobs that pay at least $15 an hour. SEIU’s new report, “A Tale of Two Clevelands,” focuses on the economic and racial disparity between the city’s booming downtown and neighborhoods gutted by poverty. Our recent report from Michael Shields demonstrates how a $15 minimum wage could begin to correct this disparity.
5/3/19: That’s the date on which Amanda Woodrum and Daniel Ortiz will present a panel, “Roadblocks to Health: Poverty and Racism,” at the Robert L. Lewis Academy of Scholars Social Justice Symposium. Amanda’s report, “Building a healthy Ohio,” isn’t required reading for the event, but it should be.
11:30: That’s when you should tune in on Sunday morning to Channel 10 in Columbus to see Wendy Patton discuss the state budget on Face the State with Scott Light.