Saturday Stats: Policy Matters testifies
Posted March 06, 2021 in eNews
Due to an editing error, the item at the bottom of the enews incorrectly states that between 2008 and 2009, employers cut 8% of all the jobs in seven Appalachian Ohio counties according to a report by the Ohio River Valley Institute. The correct time frame is between 2008 and 2019.
Six: With state budget season in full swing, we’ve been speaking up & speaking out, urging lawmakers to put our collective resources to work for all of us by enacting a People’s Budget. The General Assembly has refused to allow us to testify remotely and certain lawmakers won’t even take the most basic safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID in hearings. Yet our research staff has testified six times over the past two weeks, in writing and in person. Here’s some of what we’ve been saying:
Zach Schiller testified before the Unemployment Compensation Modernization & Improvement Council about changes needed to make sure Ohioans who have been laid off can keep food on the table. He prefaced his testimony with a powerful request for lawmakers to follow COVID safety protocols and make video testimony an option for every Ohioan.
Will Petrik joined a slew of people opposing Senate Bill 17. The bill is part of a national effort by the Foundation for Government Accountability, a corporate-backed organization that is using racist dog whistles to advance its antigovernment agenda. The bill would create new barriers to food aid and health care and make it harder for people who were laid off to get by, in the middle of a pandemic and recession. Will and Daniel Ortiz joined our partners from NOBLE and the Ohio Association of Food Banks to expose the dog whistle politics behind the proposal.
Wendy Patton testified in support of House Bill 1, which would help ensure that Ohio children, no matter where they live or what they look like, attend a great public school that prepares them for a bright future.
Zach also testified against a bill that would make George Carlin blush. In an attempt to undermine the ability of the state government to properly serve all Ohioans, Senate Bill 9 would arbitrarily cut from our laws certain “dirty words” like “shall,” “prohibits,” or “requires.”
Piet van Lier testified in support of House Bill 32, which would halt the collection of debt owed to the state’s public institutions of higher education during the recession and pandemic.
Nearly 3,000: That’s how many former and current students College Now Greater Cleveland has helped navigate the complexities of borrowing and repaying student loans. On average, the program helped save participants $400 a month. Piet and Julie Szeltner of College Now explained how the program in Cleveland provides a great template for a statewide version.
7: Between 2008 and 2019, employers cut 8% of all the jobs in seven Appalachian Ohio counties according a report by the Ohio River Valley Institute. The population in those counties — Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble — fell by about 5%. A great report from the Energy News Network talked to Amanda Woodrum about how ReImagine Appalachia has a plan to create well-paying, climate-friendly union jobs in industries of the future.