Saturday Stats
Posted January 27, 2024 in eNews
$13B: Deficit that would be created in Ohio’s budget by twin proposals from anti-government extremist legislators who want to eliminate the state income tax and Commercial Activity Tax. Tax Policy Researcher Bailey Williams pointed out to News 5 Cleveland that the proposal would shift even more of the state’s already inequitable tax system onto middle- and low-income Ohioans by requiring a sales-tax increase. He also pointed out that Ohio has been cutting income taxes since 2005, and we haven’t seen anything close to the kind of economic gains these legislators are banking on.
The fight against these proposals will likely be a long one; we’ll have plenty more to say in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned for more as we dig into the numbers with our friends from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
87.8%: Share of Ohio households for whom child care is unaffordable, according to this recent op-ed from Budget and Health Researcher Kathryn Poe. That’s based on the federal benchmark for affordability: 7% of a family’s income. When the cost of child care exceeds that, it’s unaffordable. For the typical Ohio household, it’s not even close: The average cost for an infant’s care eats up almost 17% of monthly income. Read Kathryn’s piece to learn more, including three ways Ohio officials can make child care more affordable and accessible.
5.6M+: Number of jobs in Ohio in December, according to this month’s JobWatch from economist Michael Shields. To be precise, the jobs total reached 5,661,100: a(nother) new record! Regular JobWatch readers will notice that we’ve been setting a lot of those recently, though November was the first month in over a year that showed a loss in total jobs. December’s addition of 7,000 jobs made up for that and more.
“An unprecedented number”: Quantity of public comments submitted to the DeWine administration in response to new rules restricting health care for trans people. Our comment, from Kathryn Poe, was among them. Not only do the rules create “unnecessary and unethical” hoops for trans adults to jump through — they may also create legal issues for small clinics and providers, limiting or removing their ability to deliver health care.
$1.04B: Amount of public money Ohio legislators allocated for private school vouchers for 2025, despite almost 90% of Ohio kids attending public schools. Our State of Ohio Schools 2023 report detailed some of the damage done by these voucher schemes, which were celebrated this week as part of National “School Choice” Week. Communications Associate Sarah Rodenberg responded with this TikTok explaining how vouchers siphon public funds into private, unaccountable institutions.
In memoriam
Pam Rosado dedicated her professional life to helping the people of Ohio. She was a tireless, fearless advocate for workers, serving SEIU Local 47 and the United Labor Agency along with Policy Matters and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, who honored her last week before the U.S. Senate. The staff and board of Policy Matters are saddened by her passing and grateful for the time we had with her. Our deepest sympathies to all who loved her. May her memory be a blessing.
Here is a video of Pam from 2010, talking about her work with Policy Matters.