Biz & Labor
Workers are less productive in key states. What it means for the economy.
U.S. worker productivity has dropped significantly, including in key large states, leaving some economists alarmed by the decrease in a measure that could mean trillions of dollars to the economy. Labor productivity — the value of the goods and services produced on average by an hour’s work — ranged from $58.80 in Mississippi to $120.67 […]
Dollar stores, giant grocery chains push healthy food out of reach for many, activists say
“Efficiency” is a frequent justification for allowing corporations to consolidate vast swathes of the marketplace. But when it comes to food, huge grocery chains and ubiquitous dollar stores are limiting some rural and urban communities’ access to healthy food at the same time they bankrupt the farmers who produce it, members of a virtual panel […]
Ohio craft brewers want carve out from 50 year old law locking them into distribution agreements
The United States is more than a decade deep into a craft beer boom, and Ohio is no exception. But a new coalition of brewers in Ohio argue provisions in state law are hampering the industry’s growth. Getting beer from the brewery to your neighborhood bar or store shelf, is generally the purview of a […]
Opioid-treatment maker settles with Ohio for $6 million
A maker of a common treatment for opioid addiction — Suboxone — has agreed to settle antitrust complaints by 41 state attorneys general for $102.5 million, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Friday. Ohio will get just under $6 million. The states claimed that Suboxone manufacturer Indivior made minor changes to its product to keep […]
Court battle over Randazzo docs gets nasty
Sam Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, isn’t even a defendant in a massive class-action lawsuit against Akron-based FirstEnergy. But a battle is growing bitter over documents regarding $4.3 million FirstEnergy paid a group controlled by Randazzo just as Gov. Mike DeWine nominated him in 2019. The dispute arises from […]
Federal authorities move to close mammoth drug-pricing loophole
Years after the potential for abuse was flagged in Ohio, the federal agency that oversees Medicaid is moving to close a loophole that likely is worth billions to prescription drug middlemen. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday proposed a new rule that it said would help ensure compliance with a requirement under […]
Ohio labor unions fight back against higher education bill banning strikes
Labor unions are fighting back against a controversial higher education bill in the Ohio Senate that would ban public university employees from striking. This isn’t the first fight, either. Nearly 700,000 people in Ohio are part of unions or related associations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. With that, Ohioans are continuing to unionize […]
Bipartisan bill would legalize marijuana in Ohio
Ohioans 21 and older would be able to cultivate, purchase and possess marijuana if a bipartisan bill passes in the Ohio Statehouse. State Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, and Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, introduced House Bill 168 — also known as the Ohio Adult Use Act — earlier this month. The bill would also allow conviction records […]
As Borges delay is denied, former FirstEnergy execs say “no doubt” the feds are after them
Judges denied two delays in recent days that would have been key to a bribery and money laundering scandal that took place in Ohio between 2017 to 2020. Lawyers in one suit called it “one of the largest corruption and bribery schemes in U.S. history.” Denial of a delay in one court case means that […]
Progressives try to persuade Biden to use the 14th Amendment to resolve debt crisis
WASHINGTON — Progressives are pushing hard for President Joe Biden to take the unprecedented step of invoking the 14th Amendment as a way to avoid financial calamity if the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy do not strike a deal on the debt ceiling in the coming days. The lawmakers and legal scholars argue […]
States see record low unemployment across the US
Across much of the country, the jobs market is as strong as it’s ever been, and Black women, young people and people with disabilities are among the workers benefiting, recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Twenty states reported an unemployment rate under 3% in April, while 15 states saw record lows, led by […]
Report details fast-growing CEO tax loophole giving multi-millionaires huge retirement advantages
A new report shows that a group that least needs to shelter its retirement savings — multi-million-dollar CEOs — enjoys far more generous tax benefits than the average working stiff. And that assumes the working stiff even makes enough to set some money aside in a 401(k). The report, published Thursday by the Institute for […]