Saturday Stats: Waiting for a budget
Posted June 26, 2021 in eNews
97: That’s the number of state and local organizations that called for a 2022-23 state budget that cares for all Ohioans, regardless of where they live, what they look like, or how much money they have. In a letter to Gov. DeWine, members of the Conference Committee, and other legislative leaders, the organizations called for the removal of provisions that make it harder for people to get enough food to eat and get the health care they need. They called on lawmakers to pass a budget that restores the Fair School Funding Plan, the $190 million in funding to expand broadband access, and Step Up to Quality; and to remove the 5% income tax cut that primarily benefits the wealthiest Ohioans. Final state budget negotiations are continuing over the weekend, so there's still time for you to call or email Conference Committee members to advocate for your priorities for the future of our state.
3rd: May marks the third month in a row that the number of jobs in Ohio have decreased since the economy began to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, according to Michael Shields’ JobWatch report. That means Ohio has 321,000 fewer jobs than in February 2020, with no signs of progress towards recovery. Michael and other researchers have noted that supply chain disruptions may be one reason for this rise in unemployment, as stalls in production fueled job losses in trade, transportation, and manufacturing. With fewer jobs, it is up to Ohio policymakers to restart Ohio’s recovery and help Ohio families whose lives have been upended by COVID-19.
Nearly 300,000: Today, Gov. Mike DeWine cuts off the extra $300 a week in federal unemployment compensation (UC) for close to 300,000 Ohioans. The extra $300 kept food on the table, a roof over the heads and the electricity on for countless families and helped pump money back into businesses shocked by the pandemic recession. Zach Schiller explained why the end of the benefits, which otherwise would continue through Sept. 4, will hurt families, communities, and the economy.
2.3 million+: Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 2.3 million women have left the U.S. workforce, in part due to a lack of child care options. We joined with the Ohio Poverty Law Center to ask Gov. DeWine and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to allow parents who can’t return to work because of a lack of child care to keep getting UC support.
28 days and 474 miles: That’s how long and how far Daniel Ortiz went on the pilgrimage, Camino de Santiago, that he walked with his father. Daniel wrote about this experience in a blog on Father’s Day. During the walk, he deepened the bond with his father and gained a deeper appreciation of how his larger community shapes and supports him. Certain politicians tell us our fate depends on our individual actions. The pilgrimage helped Daniel understand that it’s much more than that.
8: The Women’s Public Policy Network and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative hosted a panel of eight experts and advocates, including our Executive Director Hannah Halbert, to discuss the implications of the budget bill on Ohio families and their ability to access affordable, high-quality child care. As Hannah explained, the state is expecting $3 billion more in revenue over the next biennium than originally projected, not to mention that closing just one tax loophole that primarily benefits the wealthiest Ohioans and big corporations would give us another $1 billion. Put simply, Ohio has enough resources, ingenuity, and heart to make sure every family has what they need to live a vibrant life, regardless of their color, class, or zip code -- it’s up to our lawmakers to make sure those dollars get to them.
2: Two damaging bills in the Ohio House would make our kids’ classrooms into battlegrounds, and prevent teachers from telling the truth about our history. Any teacher or parent knows that school is a place where children develop their understanding of the world and their ability to make meaningful change in it. Caitlin Johnson and OOC Co-Executive Director Prentiss Haney explained in an op-ed earlier this month that the politicians behind these bills want to distract and divide us from the ways they’ve failed our kids by stripping resources from our schools and communities for years. Check out this guide for how you can join us in rejecting this division. Together, we can make schools a place where every child, Black, white and brown, can learn, grow, and thrive.