poverty
Families going hungry: Food insecurity is bad in Ohio and poised to explode
America’s hunger crisis is coming to a head. With supply chain problems and inflated food prices alongside family economic struggles stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Ohio families facing food insecurity has exploded. Meanwhile, the Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday, 700,000 low-income Ohio households could see big cuts to the food stamps program in […]
Ending extreme poverty in Ohio would be the state’s 16th-largest tax write-off
Often in state government, policymakers are chipping away at the margins of public policy. Legislation is usually aimed toward tweaking small technocratic problems to try to deliver services better or fighting culture war battles to score points with interest groups. Too often these policies do little to nothing to help people. So what would it […]
Ohio Medicaid claims it’s more transparent than other states
After refusing to disclose federal watchdog reports, the Ohio Department of Medicaid last week claimed that the relevant information it “makes available to the public appears to include at least as much, if not more information.” It pointed to some of that information Monday, but it’s hard to evaluate whether it meets or exceeds that […]
With inflation, supply-chain kinks, plight of Ohio food banks grows
For millions of Ohioans, world events are making it harder to fill their pantries and refrigerators, an official who helps oversee the state’s food banks said on Wednesday. Those pressures will only increase pantries’ need for state assistance, she said. The coronavirus pandemic had already put pressure on the state’s food banks as demand increased […]
The federal poverty line struggles to capture the economic hardship that half of Americans face
By Celine-Marie Pascale, American University Michael Chase works two jobs in southeast Ohio: one as a hotel night clerk and one as retail support – sorting through donations, setting new merchandise out, cleaning – at a nonprofit. His schedule is not fixed in either job, and his hours are not guaranteed. Some weeks he works […]
Despite governor’s claims, Medicaid work requirement adds big burden, expert says
It would be a new regulation on 700,000 of Ohio’s poor, but Gov. Mike DeWine says it wouldn’t impose any additional regulatory burden on them. However, asked to describe the new requirements, the Ohio Department of Medicaid provided a lengthy document that’s full of regulations. DeWine is urging Attorney General Dave Yost, a fellow Republican, […]
Budget measure would undermine affordable housing for hundreds of thousands in Ohio, critics say
Scores of Ohio business and social service organizations are voicing opposition to a move by Senate President Matt Huffman to raise taxes on housing for the state’s poor. A spokesman for Huffman didn’t respond to a request for comment. But a measure that Huffman placed in the state budget would require county auditors to value […]
Pandemic disparities mirrored pre-existing conditions for low-income families, minorities, report shows
An annual report analyzing how children faired in the nation in the last year showed harrowing effects from COVID-19, but mainly found the same disparities that existed before the pandemic. The study conducted by the advocacy group Children’s Defense Fund, which has a chapter in Ohio, used federal and state data, along with statistics from […]
During coronavirus, food insecurity, poverty spiking — and it’s getting worse
New economic research indicates that the economic impact of coronavirus was mitigated to some extent by this spring's robust governmental response. But there are a number of indications that things still were bad and are growing rapidly worse.
DeWine says coronavirus fight has to take priority over safety net
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday said that with limited resources, he'd have to prioritize fighting the disease over helping low-income Ohioans facing increasingly desperate circumstances. Some advocates for the poor said, however, said that is a false choice; that the more unstable vulnerable Ohioans become, the tougher it will be to check the spread of COVID-19.
Life on welfare isn’t what most people think it is
When Americans talk about people receiving public assistance – food stamps, disability, unemployment payments and other government help – they often have stereotypes and inaccurate perceptions of who those people are and what their lives are like. Statistics can help clarify the picture by challenging false stereotypes of undeserving people gaming the system, but people’s […]
Trump war on Obamacare front and center during COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus is a double whammy. Many are losing health coverage at the same time they’re threatened with a disease that often leads to hospital stays that can be ruinously expensive. So, amid spiraling job losses, millions are expected to buy individual health plans on exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. […]