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DeWine child tax deduction leaves poor families out
At his “state of the state” address on Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine put forth a unique proposal to the Ohio legislature — to enact a $2,500 per child state tax deduction. When I first saw this, I was excited! The 2021 federal child tax credit expansion lifted over 2 million children out of poverty. […]
What does it mean to call natural gas “green?”
Earlier this month, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation to redefine natural gas as “green energy” and to require state agencies to lease out state lands for oil and gas exploration and production. With the redefinition of natural gas as “green,” Ohio follows a summer decision by the European Union aiming to provide guidance for […]
Can Jason Stephens help Ohio do partisanship differently?
I used to live in the state of Nebraska where I did work as an organizer and an occasional lobbyist in the nation’s only nonpartisan legislature. Candidates for the Nebraska unicameral legislature run on a nonpartisan ballot and once elected, do not caucus with a party. When I was living in Nebraska, all committee chairs […]
Four ways to help people with disabilities get work
A bill currently in the Ohio General Assembly would eliminate the subminimum wage for people with disabilities. Currently, companies in Ohio are allowed to apply for a waiver from the state minimum wage to hire people with disabilities. The goal of this program is to make it easier for companies to hire people with disabilities […]
What will happen if Ohio abolishes its income tax?
For years, legislators in the Ohio General Assembly have been working to abolish the state income tax. Republicans now command historic majorities after the 2022 midterm elections. Because of this, Cleveland.com politics reporter Jeremy Pelzer is saying income tax abolition is now closer than ever. The caveman argument for abolition of the income tax is […]
What can Ohio voters learn from ballot initiatives in other states?
Every election season, the top headlines are around candidates. Which party was able to win, which candidates took office at the federal level, the state level, local government, judicial offices: this is what takes the majority of our headspace. But because of a gift given to the people during the progressive era, election season is […]
Four issues voters care about this election season
With elections coming tomorrow, reporters across the state are asking voters what issues matter to them. I saw a recent survey done by 10TV that caught my eye. This survey was a quick, small survey that likely had a convenience sample, but it still gives us some perspective on what voters are talking about. Asking […]
Conversion therapy bans could prevent hundreds of youth suicides over the next decade
Last Monday, the Akron City Council voted to ban conversion therapy in the city, making it the eleventh city in Ohio to do so. The pseudoscientific practice referred to as “conversion therapy” encompasses counseling aimed at children focused on changing sexual orientation. The practice has been condemned by the American Medical Association, the American Counseling […]
Is it time for all Ohio children to get free meals at schools?
Last month, the Ohio State Board of Education officially recommended that the state of Ohio use American Rescue Plan Act dollars to provide free breakfast and lunch to Ohio students through the end of the year. The federal government has been providing free lunch to children from low-income families since 1946, when President Harry Truman […]
Alcohol abuse still a public health problem in Ohio
In 2020, early in the pandemic, Gov. Mike DeWine was the talk of the country, earning national praise for his public health efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. At the same time that the DeWine administration was effectively shutting down a third of the economy to slow the spread of the virus, it counterintuitively […]
Clean energy is about more than just climate change
Imagine for a moment that climate change wasn’t happening. That the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change hadn’t determined major inevitable and irreversible climate changes are likely on the horizon due to release of greenhouse gases. Would our transition past coal to a new energy economy still make sense? According to a new working paper by […]
What can Ohio do to fight PTSD?
If you are interested in the world of public health, you may have heard the growing conversation around adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—traumatic events in childhood that have health and economic impacts that ripple into adulthood. According to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio nearly two-thirds of Ohio adults reported exposure to ACEs in 2015. This […]