Counting down: Saturday Stats from Policy Matters Ohio
Posted October 31, 2020 in eNews
3: That’s how many days until Election Day – so if you haven’t yet, be sure to be a voter!!
17,531: That’s now many Ohioans applied for unemployment compensation last week, according to data from the Department of Labor. Executive Director Hannah Halbert said the number of people still out of work, plus the latest spike in COVID-19 cases, means Ohioans need federal stimulus now — which makes it even more baffling that lawmakers haven’t passed it yet. Hannah shared her insights about Ohio with CBS News MoneyWatch. And Research Director Zach Schiller joined Sen. Sherrod Brown and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative for a virtual townhall about the need to renew pandemic unemployment assistance.
$1.94 billion: Amount of public resources for public schools, public health and more that state leaders could generate by adopting our proposals to rebalance the state tax code. While certain politicians aren’t interested, now is not the time to take revenue off the table, Hannah explained in a letter to Cleveland.com.
4,500: Number of people GM laid off when they decided to build the new Chevy Blazer in Mexico instead of Lordstown. The workers, families and community GM abandoned are prime examples of the price Ohioans have paid for ill-conceived, short-sighted and just plain bad federal policy decisions. They’re also a troubling reminder of how anti-worker policies have undermined working people’s ability to speak up together. But our elected leaders can turn things around by adopting policies that protect and increase workers’ right to organize, here and with our trading partners abroad. That’s just one of the takeaways from this fantastic op-ed in the Ohio Capital Journal by our friend and ally Tim O’Hara, former president of UAW Local 1112.
235,000: Number of jobs we’re going to create in Ohio with the ReImagine Appalachia Coalition and their blueprint for building a sustainable 21st century economy in the Ohio River Valley. You don’t have to take our word for it: The Political Economy Research Institute studied the plan and broke down its job-creating effects. Senior Researcher (and ReImagine Appalachia doyen) Amanda Woodrum wrote up the findings.
3.3: Kilowatt-hours worth of fossil fuel necessary to produce one kilowatt-hour of electricity. In other words, “For every three lumps of coal you put in, you only get one lump out.” That’s how Amanda puts it in the white paper she released this week with the ReImagine Appalachia Coalition. That paper, titled “Growing clean and efficient manufacturing,” is one of three produced by the coalition. They get into the nitty-gritty of how, by embracing the RA blueprint, federal policymakers can create all those good jobs, as well as healthier air, water and soil. (If you’d like the Cliff’s Notes version of those three technical papers, click here for a summary. And if you want to watch the press conference publicizing the release of the white papers, click here.)
$40 million: Difference between the amount of CARES Act funding Ohio’s public two-year colleges received and the amount they would have received if legislators used a more accurate measure of attendance. Instead, they opted for a measure that disproportionately benefitted for-profit schools. That’s $40 million that didn’t go to community colleges and technical colleges: some of the best ways Ohioans have to continue their education and get better jobs. Research Consultant Piet van Lier looks at the federal policy decision that’s costing Ohioans dearly in this op-ed for the Columbus Dispatch.
857,000: Number of Ohioans who can see a doctor, fill a prescription, or get treatment for pre-existing conditions because of the Affordable Care Act. The decision by the U.S. Senate (including Ohio Senator Rob Portman) to elevate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court could put those 857,000 Ohioans at risk. It does the same for the 54,000 Ohio jobs that depend on federal funding drawn down thanks to the ACA. Barrett opposes the ACA, and SCOTUS will soon hear a case that could overturn it. Hannah issued this statement on the threat we now face.