Policy Matters calls for more federal action to recover from the pandemic recession
Posted May 26, 2021 in Press Releases
Ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to Cleveland tomorrow, Policy Matters Ohio Communications Director Caitlin Johnson made the following statement.
“Most of us believe that to have a healthy, thriving nation, we need healthy, thriving people. But for years, certain politicians pitted us against each other based on what we look like and how much money we have while taking public resources from our schools and communities to pay for giveaways to big corporations and a handful of wealthy backers. President Biden’s plans take an important step toward rebalancing the tax code so the wealthiest and corporations come closer to paying their fair share.
“We can have a future where we all make a good living without sacrificing our health — like the future envisioned by ReImagine Appalachia. By consolidating power and attacking working people’s right to join a union, corporations in Ohio have held wages nearly flat for four decades. So today, there is a shortage of quality jobs. The American Jobs Plan can put people to work repairing environmental damage from mining and drilling; reviving the land through a modern Civilian Conservation Corps; building out broadband and modernizing the electric grid. Lawmakers can make sure those new jobs are good, union jobs that pay family-sustaining wages and create opportunities for people who are too often left out — like displaced coal workers, Black, brown and Indigenous people, and women.
“The American Families Plan would create transformative opportunities for millions of children, families and college students. It would slash childhood poverty by 40%. It would help more families afford child care and make sure the people caring for our kids can make a decent living. It would set more children up for success with free, universal pre-school for all 3- and 4-year-olds. It would expand opportunities by increasing aid for students with low incomes, increasing support for HBCUs and providing two years of free community college.
“After the Great Recession of 2008, federal policymakers made the mistake of ending aid too soon. It took Ohio seven years to regain all the jobs we lost. Today, Ohio still has 290,000 fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic. Our leaders can’t take their foot off the gas. Gov. DeWine is one of 23 governors who are rejecting federal supplemental unemployment compensation even though Ohio shed jobs last month. The American Families Plan calls on Congress to reform the unemployment system so it is better prepared for the next recession.
“President Biden’s American Rescue Plan harnessed the power of the federal government to help people pay the rent and keep food on the table. Now Congress must pass the American Jobs and Families Plans so we create a better future for all of us.”