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Census Bureau releases new poverty numbers
On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on the state of poverty in the United States. Every year, this is the biggest moment in poverty statistics as we get a snapshot of what poverty looked like in the previous year. While statewide information is forthcoming, with the national numbers we can come […]
What’s the matter with zoning?
Conversations in Columbus have been brewing for years about an overhaul of the city’s 70-year-old zoning code. City officials are now saying they will likely vote on a large reform package this spring. While zoning, or restriction of land for particular uses, feels as American as apple pie, the institution is only an invention of […]
What would recreational marijuana in Ohio look like?
While the conversation about the November election has revolved around abortion protections, that won’t be the only issue Ohio voters decide on. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol recently submitted enough signatures to get a vote on recreational cannabis on the ballot. The proposal, known as the Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative, would legalize the […]
November vote could give Ohio among the strongest abortion protections in the region
Last week, Ohio voters rejected Issue 1. This was a constitutional amendment put forth by abortion opponents in the state legislature to make it harder for Ohio voters to enshrine abortion protections in the Ohio Constitution. After this vote, the next big policy decision for Ohio around abortion protections will be the “Ohio Right to […]
How can we use policy to reduce disparities in Ohio?
Earlier this month, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a brief on the prevalence of racial disparities in Ohio. The study quantified the disparity between racial groups of Ohio at $79 billion from gaps in income, consumer spending, tax revenues, health care spending, productivity, and corrections spending. Racial inequality has economic implications, but it’s […]
What would Ohio look like under Issue One?
One thing that has been on my mind as Ohio considers increasing its threshold for constitutional amendments is the impact such a change will have on the economy. Issue 1 is the constitutional amendment put forth by Republican legislators with the goal of making a statewide vote on abortion rights more difficult. The amendment would […]
Ohio Senate budget attacks poor people on food assistance, affordable housing, and other programs
The Ohio Senate Republican budget passed last week put forth a new vision for social safety net spending in Ohio. The proposal suggests reduced spending on food banks, housing for pregnant women, affordable housing, and school meals for poor children. It also proposes making it harder for low-income people to get access to Medicaid, SNAP […]
Food insecurity in Ohio as bad as ever
Back in 2016, I conducted a policy analysis on food insecurity in Ohio. I was drawn to this question because I saw a report from the Center for American Progress rating states on a variety of different indicators. Ohio, as it still tends to do, fell near the middle of the pack on nearly every […]
Health inequity alive and well in Ohio
Last month, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released its annual Health Value Dashboard, its marquee report analyzing health outcomes and cost of healthcare in the state of Ohio. This year, the report had a special focus on health equity. This section covers both the progress the state has made on the health equity front […]
Will Ohio legalize recreational cannabis?
A group called the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is currently collecting signatures to legalize the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of cannabis to Ohioans age 21 and up via a ballot initiative later this year. The argument that cannabis should be treated the same as alcohol is a common one in legalization circles. […]
Is it time for a $15 minimum wage?
When I was living in Nebraska in 2014, the state passed a citizen-initiated minimum wage increase to raise the wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour. At the time, Nebraska’s minimum wage was the highest in the country after adjusting for local cost of living. Nebraska was on the front end of a series of […]
Reading curriculum changes need evaluation
Earlier this month, Education Week reported on a policy trend that Ohio Gov. DeWine has made a central focus of his 2024-2025 budget: reform of reading curriculum standards. This reform in particular centers around a fulcrum of debate about how to teach reading in schools. In particular, a popular but controversial program called “Reading Recovery” […]