Saturday Stats
Posted August 19, 2023 in eNews
Numeric news from Policy Matters
14%: Margin by which Ohioans defeated Issue 1 in the August 8th special election, reaffirming the people’s right to check legislative power and advance policies that make Ohio better for all of us. In the past, Ohio voters have used this power to defeat extremist anti-worker legislation, protect worker compensation programs, raise the state minimum wage and index it to inflation. In November, we’ll have the opportunity to use it again, to protect reproductive freedom.
38.5%: Statewide voter turnout for the special election — the result of tireless grassroots advocacy and organizing by a broad coalition, including Ohio Unity Coalition, Black Ohio Leaders for Democracy, Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund, and the Freedom Bloc. We talked with leaders from those orgs for a special episode of What’s Good Ohio?!, our podcast with our friends at Ohio Voice — now cohosted by Policy Matters Communications Associate Sarah Rodenberg!
65: Number of plants closed by the Big 3 automakers (Ford, GM, Stellantis) in the past 20 years, according to United Auto Workers. The right to strike against closures is among UAW members’ demands for the next Big 3 contract. Research Director Zach Schiller interviewed UAW Region 2B Director David Green to discuss negotiations, which are underway. Watch the video and/or read the transcript here.
5,639,200: Number of jobs in Ohio in July — the most in Ohio history! — according to new data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. That’s the big takeaway from this month’s JobWatch by Policy Matters Senior Researcher Michael Shields. If those numbers hold (they’re subject to revision next month), it will mark the end of a decades-long jobs deficit compared to our previous peak in May 2000. This remarkable recovery owes much to the massive response by Congress to meet the scale of the crisis caused by COVID-19. Check out JobWatch for more on how policymakers can keep it up.
$8,407: Maximum amount of public money that goes to private high schools for each EdChoice voucher they accept. (Private K-8 schools get a max of $6,165 per voucher.) Those vouchers are now universally available, even for families who already could afford private school tuition. Policy Matters Researcher Tanisha Pruitt, PhD, spoke with News 5 Cleveland about how vouchers hurt Ohio’s kids.
$900M+: Annual cost in 2024 and 2025 of income tax cuts included in the new state budget. That’s $900 million not available to pay care workers a living wage, provide treatment for people with addiction, or help families afford child care — or to address any of the other priorities we outlined in the People’s Budget. Policy Matters Researcher Guille Bervejillo, PhD, details those tax cuts, their cost and who they benefit, in a simple, shareable factsheet.
$500M+: Annual ongoing cost of changes to the Commercial Activities Tax also included in the new budget. That’s from another of Guille’s factsheets, digging into why small businesses benefit very little, while the 10% of businesses with annual taxable receipts over $6 million take more than half the value of the cuts. Please share these great new resources with the tax enthusiasts in your life!
Action items
- Listen to the special election episode of What’s Good Ohio?!
- Watch our interview with UAW’s Dave Green.
- Sharethis factsheet detailing changes to the income tax and this one on the Commercial Activities Tax.
- Register to vote before October 10!
- Volunteer with Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights — the “coalition of coalitions” advancing the movement to protect reproductive rights for all Ohioans. (OURR unites the many groups who’ve been working on repro rights for a final push in the runup to the November election: ACLU of Ohio, Abortion Fund of Ohio, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Ohio Women’s Alliance, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Preterm-Cleveland, Pro-Choice Ohio, and URGE.)
- Apply (or nominate someone) to be the Executive Director of Honesty for Ohio Education!