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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
National, Ohio Republican budgets prioritize corporate welfare and donor handouts over Ohio families
The Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) Budget bills being shepherded through Congress and the Ohio Statehouse by Republican majorities are a reflection of priorities. Not mine and maybe not yours, but they are an explicit manifesto of the 'values' most prized by the controlling party. The federal budget bill and the one being hammered out in Ohio both put a premium on corporate welfare, as opposed to social safety nets, and the continued prosperity of fat cats who write big campaign checks, as opposed to everyone else. Federal lawmakers — more fearful of upsetting their Dear Leader than screwing their constituents out of healthcare and food aid — are doubling-down to enact a $2.4 trillion-dollar operating budget with unpaid tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the ultra-wealthy and corporations while millions go hungry and lose medical insurance. Besides the moral depravity of kicking the working-class poor to the curb to reward multi-millionaires and billionaires with lavish tax breaks, this deficit-ballooning monstrosity is predicted to explode the national debt to more than $50 trillion within ten years. The so-called deficit hawks who howl about paid-for spending budgets that increase revenue, reduce federal deficits, and reverse the unsustainable trajectory of today's roughly $29 trillion in public debt, will ram through the Trump's country club giveaway to the rich. They will vote for what the felon-in-chief (corruptly enriching himself on an epic scale) values above all else — money and power — while bankrupting the country, leaving 11 million Americans uninsured, and forcing countless families to ration meals. Trump supporters will lose what keeps them afloat, but what matters to the congressional invertebrates who represent them is only what matters to their amoral god king. They will spurn the many who struggle to survive to indulge the few who luxuriate in multiple homes and on super yachts. While sparse food banks turn away seniors on the edge of poverty and mothers desperate to stave off their children's hunger, the richest Americans will walk away richer, thanks to one party that prioritizes the interests of zillionaires and modern-day robber barons to maintain political dominance. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Ohio Republicans are using the same playbook as their federal counterparts to hand the wealthiest Ohioans a billion-dollar handout by lowering the state income tax on those making six figures plus with a single flat rate for everybody. But less than 3% of this tax cut would go to the bottom 80% of working Ohioans, according to Policy Matters Ohio. A tax expert with the nonpartisan research group testified that the other 97% 'goes to Ohioans in the top 20% of earners, making at least $139,000' while the top 1% alone (with an average income of over $1.7 million) rakes in 40% of the tax cut benefits. So much for equity in a regressive tax code proposal that eliminates graduated brackets for the gated community to pay a higher share of its considerable income. Who cares if Ohio's general revenue fund takes a 1.1 billion hit in lost revenue as a result? State lawmakers' rational for their fiscally irresponsible tax cuts to the mega-rich is identical to the one congressional Republicans offer for the bulk of their tax cuts going to the richest households and greediest corporations. It's the old, punctured 'trickle-down theory' that pretends fat cats with fatter wallets ignite economic growth. Proof to the contrary is abundant. So is evidence that subsidizing billionaire owners of sports teams with public money to build multi-billion-dollar stadiums is a bad bet for taxpayers. But that hasn't stopped leading Republicans in the Ohio Senate and Ohio House from bending over backward to accommodate Jimmy and Dee Haslams' ask for $600 million to take the Browns out of a perfectly good stadium on the lakefront and plop a new one into a working-class suburb right next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The pols bow to the Haslams as deep-pocketed Republican donors and are committed to finding some way to finance the couple's private interests with public funds. But the party that engineered gerrymandered supermajorities in the legislature and exerts absolute rule in Ohio insists the state can't find any extra money for food banks (reeling from deep funding cuts under the Trump regime) and has unified around slashing food bank funding by nearly 25% despite rising demand across Ohio. Republicans also argue that fully funding public education in the state — under a bipartisan spending formula that came closest to meeting long ignored constitutional obligations — is not sustainable under a tight budget. But swelling state investments in a voucher boondoggle predicted to cost $1.25 billion by 2027, according to the Columbus Dispatch, to offset tuition costs for affluent families who can afford the private schools their darlings already attend is sustainable?? Statehouse Republicans blame budget constraints for cutbacks on opioid recovery programs, public libraries, public transit, safe drinking water initiatives, continued Medicaid coverage for kids up to age 3, and even no-cost breakfast and lunch for all Ohio students. They punted on property tax relief with clawbacks from fiscally responsible school districts yet managed to remove all elected members of the state education board in the Ohio House budget bill. But cash for brand new stadiums, a billion-dollar tax cut for the wealthy, and an open government spigot for expanded private school vouchers? Those are GOP priorities that value money and power above all else.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOGE cuts to science will impact Ohio, students
The "Hands Off" protest April 5, 2025 at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) Earlier this month, over a thousand of the brightest young minds on our planet converged on Columbus, Ohio, for the International Science Fair. It was a special moment for me because I competed at the event as a high school senior, and that experience played a role in launching my physics career. To give back in some way, I volunteered to be a judge. Competitions like these are about the students. It prepares them to find their place in the vast and astoundingly successful landscape of American science, which is the envy of the world. It's no coincidence that the international competition, which could be held anywhere on the planet, is held year after year in the United States. It's also not a coincidence that it was held in Ohio. The organizers of the fair understood that Ohio is a scientific powerhouse, home to many thousands of scientists and engineers who meet the strict criteria to be judges. For similar reasons, when I competed, the location was in silicon valley. If you are one of the many scientists and engineers in Ohio, then you are probably aware that in mid-April DOGE arrived at science funding agencies like the National Science Foundation. You are also aware that it isn't just the DEI, education, or climate-related grants now getting the axe. Science agencies face up to 55% cuts across the board, reductions of tens of billions of dollars. But even before Congress can vote on these cuts, DOGE is already in the process of laying off staff at the National Science Foundation, just like they did at USAID and the US Department of Education. These staff have masters or in the fields of the grant programs being cut, precisely who you would want to oversee the investment of taxpayer dollars in scientific research. All of this was on my mind as I interviewed students about their projects. I met students who had discovered new exoplanets using NASA data and artificial intelligence algorithms. I talked to students who took over their parents' garage to test theories about light, fluids, or sound. As I interviewed these students, I wondered if they would get the same chances that I did to succeed. When I was in college, I twice received National Science Foundation support to do summer astronomy research. Now, in summer 2025, the number of spots for federally funded undergrad research programs have been drastically reduced. After college, I was fortunate to become a Ph.D. student at Ohio State. This year, anticipating the loss of federal dollars, Ohio State reduced their graduate admissions and some universities have even rescinded offers. If I were a student now, my career could easily be derailed by these roadblocks. As a society, we have an obligation to give our kids the same opportunities to succeed that earlier generations had. Our students and postdocs should be on the ground floor of scientific discoveries with data from world-class instruments. Instead, it seems, they will be on the ground floor of nothing, and unable to build the professional relationships that grow into a cutting-edge career. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio continues to rank terribly among the states, from the economy to health care
The Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) Ohio continues to rank terribly in nearly every way possible, according to the latest state rankings from the U.S. News & World Report. The Buckeye State slid two more spots in the report's latest rankings of the 50 states, moving from No. 36 in the 2023 report to No. 38 in the latest iteration. In addition to ranking No. 38 overall, Ohio also ranks No. 41 in natural environment, No. 41 in higher education, No. 39 in economy, No. 34 in health care, No. 30 in crime and corrections, No. 30 in education overall, No. 30 in infrastructure, and No. 25 in fiscal stability. On only one metric, opportunity, does Ohio crack the top half of states, at No. 17. The U.S. News & World Report has been ranking the states since 2017, and Ohio has bounced around the bottom states in America that entire time. In 2017, we were No. 35. In 2018, we dropped to No. 40. The year of 2019 saw us roaring back to No. 39. After no rankings in 2020, we came in at No. 36 in 2021 and climbed mightily to No. 34 by 2023 before dropping back down to No. 36 last year and now No. 38 this year. Before anyone starts howling with indignation about how horribly unfair and biased the U.S. News & World Report must be, I'll note that the No. 1 ranked state for three years running is Utah — not exactly a bastion of crunchy liberal thinking. So no, these aren't politicized rankings: Ohio's elected leaders fully earned this pathetic spot for our state via their poisonous politics and terrible policies and priorities. Ohio politicians don't need to worry though. Ohio voters seem determined to give them all endless free passes to do whatever they want no matter how atrocious the outcomes or rampant the corruption. I assume their cushy careers will all be fine no matter how terribly Ohio does by every available metric, as long as they put the right party label next to their name on the ballot given whatever their geographic location. Actions don't matter. Outcomes don't matter. Rampant corruption doesn't matter. Only partisan politics matters. Right? Let's take a look at some of those outcomes. On the issue of crime, for corrections outcomes, Ohio ranks No. 46. On public safety, No. 22. Our incarceration and juvenile incarceration rates are both above the national average, but the violent crime rate is below the national average. On the economy, we rank No. 30 for business environment, No. 43 for employment, and No. 36 for growth. Our venture capital investment, migration from other states, and job growth numbers all fall below the national average. In education, our pre-K-12 ranks No. 15, while higher education ranks No. 41. Our student debt at graduation is higher than the national average, but so is our high school graduation rate and math scores. Back in 2010, Ohio was ranked by Education Week as having the 5th best public school system in the nation. We've fallen far, and state lawmakers are looking at abandoning the Fair School Funding Plan, so who knows what that will do. School districts are already struggling mightily, with Akron for instance looking at $44 million worth of cuts. Being No. 15 in K-12 right now isn't a point of pride or reason for optimism. On fiscal stability, Ohio's long-term outlook ranks No. 16, most likely because we have around $3.7 billion sitting in our rainy day fund. The short-term outlook isn't so hot though, ranking No. 40 among the states, with our liquidity still well below the national average. Health care is all pretty terrible for Ohio. We rank No. 40 in public health, No. 36 in health care access, and No. 28 in health care quality. Access to health care is set to take an enormous tumble if President Trump and Republicans in Congress pass the enormous Medicaid cuts they want. More than 1 in 4 Ohioans rely on Medicaid – including 40% of children, 20% of working-age adults, and 10% of seniors. Hundreds of thousands of Ohioans stand to lose their health insurance under the Trump Republican cuts. Right now about 8.4% of Ohioans don't have health insurance. That number is poised to skyrocket under the Trump plan. Again though, please rest assured, in case you were worried, the wealthy and well-connected will continue to do fabulously well. In infrastructure, at No. 30 overall, Ohio ranks No. 15 in transportation, but comes in at No. 30 for internet access, and No. 32 for energy. On natural environment, we rank No. 24 on air and water quality, but No. 45 for pollution. As far as opportunity, Ohio is affordable, ranking No. 16. However, things get worse when it comes to equality, ranking No. 21. They fall off a cliff when it comes to economic opportunity, ranking at No. 38. These rankings don't capture some other things of note. For instance, 1.8 million Ohioans are food insecure. That's out of a population of 11.88 million, which means more than 15% of our population is regularly going hungry. Data from Feeding America shows 1 in 5 Ohio children live in homes that are food insecure. Ohio is also among the top eight states for worst infant mortality. Taken all-in-all, while there might not be much opportunity to improve your lot in Ohio, at least it's a vaguely affordable place to stagnate in poverty. We might have a lot of infant deaths, low incomes, hungry children and families, a lack of health care access, poor public health outcomes, horrible pollution, pathetic corrections, a bad employment situation, a bad energy situation, dim prospects for growth, worsening higher education, and disinvestment from public schools, but at least we have… middling prospects for long-term fiscal stability. Congratulations, Ohio. We're No. 38. We're No. 38. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Signature collection can begin to get referendum to repeal higher education law on Ohio's ballot
Ohio college students and protesters rally at the Statehouse on March 19, 2025, against Senate Bill 1, a higher education overhaul that bans diversity efforts and faculty strikes, and sets rules around classroom discussion, among other things. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) The first major hurdle to get a referendum on the November ballot to repeal Ohio's massive higher education law has been cleared. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost certified the title and summary language for a referendum that would repeal Senate Bill 1, set to take effect at the end of June. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE S.B. 1 bans diversity efforts, regulates classroom discussion, prohibits faculty strikes, creates post-tenure reviews, puts diversity scholarships at risk, and creates a retrenchment provision that blocks unions from negotiating on tenure, among other things. The law affects Ohio's public universities and community colleges. 'My certification of the title and summary… should not be construed as an affirmation of the enforceability and constitutionality of the referendum petition,' Attorney General Dave Yost said in a letter certifying the petition. Members of the Youngstown State University's chapter of the Ohio Education Association are behind efforts to get the referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot. With the title and summary language approval, petitioners can now start gathering signatures. About 248,092 signatures are needed — 6% of the total vote cast for governor during the last gubernatorial election. The signatures must be from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. The signatures would likely be due at the end of June. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose would then have to verify the signatures before the measure is referred to the Ohio Ballot Board to determine the language that would appear on the November ballot. The last time a referendum passed in Ohio was 2011 when voters overturned an anti-collective bargaining law. Some of Ohio's public universities have started making decisions because of S.B. 1. Ohio University announced it will close the Pride Center, the Women's Center and the Multicultural Center. The University of Toledo is suspending nine undergraduate programs in response to a controversial new higher education law that is set to take effect this summer. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
When it's about ‘Hands Off,' that also applies to public schools
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic Party nominee for vice president, speaks at the Columbus Convention Center as the keynote speaker for the national Network for Public Education conference on Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) The Hands Off! demonstrations at the Ohio Statehouse that drew thousands of protestors wasn't the only gathering of activists earlier this month in downtown Columbus. Just a short distance away at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, a smaller but equally passionate gathering of concerned citizens from across the nation came to Ohio's capital city to attend the Network for Public Education's National Conference and affirm their support for the common school, the very symbol of democracy in this increasingly divided nation. That disunion is driven in part by the rapid growth of universal educational vouchers and charter schools, where public funds flow to private and religious schools as well as privately operated charter schools and where public accountability and oversight of taxpayer funds is limited or even absent. In many states, including Ohio, those public funds in the form of vouchers are drawn from the very state budget line item that is earmarked for public schools. Of particular concern to the conference attendees is the division in communities fueled by vouchers, which have been shown in some states to subsidize private and religious school tuition exceeding 80% of those enrolled. In Ohio, according to research conducted by former Ohio lawmaker Stephen Dyer, the figure is 91%. Several speakers referred to this situation as 'welfare for the rich' and 'an entitlement for the wealthy.' The research shared at the conference also confirmed the findings of the National Coalition for Public Education that 'most recipients of private school vouchers in universal programs are wealthy families whose children never attended public schools in the first place.' So much for the tired Republican rhetoric of vouchers being a lifeline of escape from 'failing schools' for poor inner-city children. Another strong area of concern shared at the NPE event was the growing intrusion of religious organizations like Life Wise Academy which recruit students for release time Bible study during the school day. While attendees were told that school guidelines direct that such activities are to be scheduled during electives and lunch, the programs still conflict with the normal school routine and put a burden on school resources, where time is needed for separating release time students and adjusting the instructional routine because of the arrival and departure of a group within the classroom. One presenter, concerned about students receiving conflicting information, said that his experience as a science teacher found situations where there was a disconnect between what he termed 'Biblical stories and objective facts.' Some Ohio school districts, including Westerville and Worthington in Franklin County, had to amend their policies in the wake of HB 8, which mandated that districts have religious instruction release time policies in place. The district policies had been written as an attempt to lessen the possibility of other religious programs wanting access to students and the further disruption that would cause to the school routine. The recent legislative activity about accommodating religious groups like LifeWise is at variance with history, as conference chair and Network for Public Education founder Dr. Diane Ravitch pointed out in her remarks about the founding of Ohio. As part of the Northwest Territory, she noted that Ohio was originally divided into sixteen townships, with Township 16, one square mile of the grid, being reserved for school lands. Unlike education, there was no intent to designate any part of the grid for religious purposes, she explained. Ohio became the first state to be formed from the Northwest Territory, and its provision for public education would become a prototype for the young republic. The common school, an idea central to the founders of the state, would be located such 'that local schools would have an income and that the community schoolhouses would be centrally located for all children.' Unfortunately, the idea of the common school being centrally located in every community is an idea not centrally located within the minds of right-wing Republican legislators. From the information exchanged at the conference, that is the case in the great majority of statehouses, and a matter of great concern for continuing national cohesiveness. The theme of the NPE National Conference, 'Public Schools – Where All Students Are Welcome,' stands in marked contrast with the exclusionary practices of private and religious schools where, unlike public schools, there are no requirements to accept and enroll every student interested in attending. While these schools are reluctant to accept students who may need additional instructional support, they show no reluctance in accepting state voucher payments. Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, one of the keynote speakers, told the audience about her experience in fighting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's voucher scheme and the double meaning of the term school choice. 'School choice is also the school's choice,' she told the audience, as she estimated that 80% or more of state funds will go to kids who are already enrolled in private and religious schools. Her battle with the Texas governor, who has defined the passage of voucher legislation in the Lone Star State as his 'urgent priority,' is a tale of his alliance with Jeff Yass, a pro-voucher Pennsylvania billionaire who has donated $12 million so far to Abbott's voucher crusade. Hinojosa was scathing in her criticism of Abbott and his fellow Republicans and of a party that once 'worshipped at the altar of accountability.' Now, she told the attendees, 'they want free cash money, with no strings attached.' 'Grift, graft, and greed' is the narrative of appropriating public funds for private purposes, Hinojosa believes, a tale of supporting 'free taxpayer money with no accountability.' The NPE conference ended with an address by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee. With his background as a former teacher and coach, Walz had a strong connect with an audience comprised mostly of educators and public school advocates. His folksy language and sense of humor further endeared him to the conference attendees. Based on the continuing bad behavior of affluent actors in the voucher and charter wars, 'greedy bastards' is a better descriptor than oligarchs, he observed. From the reaction of the audience and what they heard previously from Gina Hinojosa and other presenters, the language offered by Walz was a more accurate definition of welfare for the wealthy. At the end of his remarks, Walz encouraged educators not to despair but to accept their key place in society. 'There is a sense that servant leadership comes out of serving in public education.' Attendees at the NPE conference included educators, school board members, attorneys, legislators, clergy, and policy makers — a cross-section of America. Their presence affirmed a core belief that the public school, open to all, represents the very essence of a democratic society. And there is no debate about whether or not those schools are under attack by right-wing legislatures intent on rewarding higher-income constituents with tuition support to schools that choose their students as they exercise the 'school's choice.' (As a devotee of the Apostrophe Protection Society, I applaud this distinction.) So what are we going to do about this? Attendees left the conference with some strong themes. The choir needs to sing louder. Hope over fear. Aspiration over despair. The road to totalitarianism is littered with people who say you're overreacting. As the loudness about the subject of what is more aptly described as 'the school's choice' gets louder,' you can bet that servant leaders like Diane Ravitch, Gina Hinojosa, Tim Walz and others are making a difference in responding to the challenge of servant leadership to ensure that the common school, so central to 19th Century communities in the Northwest Territory and beyond, continues to be the choice of every community for defining America and the democracy it represents. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
