Saturday Stats
Posted May 06, 2023 in eNews
Numeric news from Policy Matters
$39.55M: The Ohio House passed its version of the state budget (H.B. 33) and, well, it could be worse. (Of course, Ohioans deserve better than a “less bad” budget.) One of the bright spots is the House’s decision to help Ohioans put food on the table by funding food banks at a rate of $39.55 million per state fiscal year. The move shows that our representatives have some sense of the good we can do when we put people first in the budget — which makes it all the more frustrating to see them instead handing out more tax cuts for the wealthy.
94.7%: H.B. 33 includes major changes to Ohio’s tax code. State Policy Fellow Guillermo Bervejillo, PhD, and Research Director Zach Schiller parsed them out, with help from our friends at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. One number worth noting: 94.7% of the cuts would go to the top 40% of households by income, leaving the remaining 60% of us with just 5.3%.
$62,000: Check out this excellent piece from News 5 Cleveland’s Morgan Trau, in which Guillermo points out the laughably small benefits of those tax cuts for people making less than Ohio's median income ($62,000 annually). And stick around to hear a tax cut advocate lament that the proposed tax cut is unfair to the wealthy because it doesn't privilege them enough!
10: We celebrated May Day with A New Way Forward, a 10-point plan that every working person will love, made up of policies that will love you right back! It’s the latest from Senior Researcher Michael Shields, and it includes old favorites like “Protect workers’ right to unionize” and new hits like “Affirm ride-hail drivers as employees.” (ICYMI: We gave TikTok a sneak peek. Check it out, and while you’re there, share & follow for more!)
Six: The Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP), introduced in the previous state budget, is a six-year plan — but legislators only funded its first two years. Although Ohio has enough funds to finish the job, H.B. 33 would continue the piecemeal approach this time around, creating another two years of uncertainty after the upcoming budget cycle. State Policy Fellow Tanisha Pruitt, PhD, talked about what a fully funded FSFP would mean for Ohio’s kids on Education Matters, the podcast from the Ohio Education Association. Tanisha spoke with host Katie Olmsted about her latest report on school funding, and previewed some upcoming projects!
Action items:
- Celebrate May Day with the Central Ohio Worker Center! TOMORROW—Free tacos, kebabs & ice cream! Music, dancing, face painting, resource fair & goodie bags! Sun., May 7, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Westgate Shelterhouse, 3271 Wicklow Rd., Columbus.
- Email your Representatives & Senators to stop SB 83/HB151, the Higher Education Destruction Act. Honesty for Ohio Education makes it easy: Click here.
- Learn about K-12 funding from Dr. Howard Fleeter at the City Club of Cleveland. Wed., June 7 at 11:30 a.m. Details and tickets here.
- Show up for racial justice by joining SURJ’s webinar for people who are interested in building power in white, working-class communities in multiracial coalitions for justice. Thu., May 18 from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Details & registration here.