Democratic News

It was 50 years ago today that President Johnson declared a war on poverty in this nation. Still, many in our state are left to wonder whether the battle rages on in Ohio. Only six other states have more people in poverty, and over the past few years, our poverty rates have been higher than the national average.

Ohio’s median income dropped 11 percent over the past 12 years, meaning more Ohioans have likely slipped in their economic position and could be one mere emergency away from financial ruin. Families that were once middle and working class now  know the harsh consequences of living in a society that seems to continually edge out broad-based economic opportunity and, instead,  focuses on investing in the wealthiest among us.

24 percent of Ohio’s children are impoverished; yet the state has cut over $1B to public education in recent years.

18 percent of Ohio's women are living in poverty but the last state budget included sweeping prohibitions on women’s access to healthcare—especially for low-income females.

10 percent of senior citizens in Ohio are impoverished. The recent budget raised property taxes for seniors who are likely just outside the traditional definition of poverty, but that increase-- coupled with another 12.5 percent property tax increase and a 4.5 percent sales tax increase-- means Ohio’s seniors who are barely getting by are faced with policies that will eat away at their financial security.

134,000 Ohioans are now faced with the possibility of losing food benefits through restrictions imposed by Gov. Kasich. How can we expect poor Ohioans in need of basic necessities to find work when our state spent 1/3 of 2013 as a national leader in job loss?

The 24^th largest economy in the world shouldn’t be a national leader in poverty or job loss. We need to find a new approach that addresses our shrinking middle class. Tax cuts aimed at put

Today marks the 50^th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty initiative. The day serves as a stark reminder that there’s still plenty of fighting to do, especially in Ohio.

The state jobs report for Nov. was released today, showing Ohio well-above the national unemployment rate with 427,000 Ohioans still looking for work. The U.S. economy is growing at the fastest pace since late 2011, but Ohio lost 12,000 jobs last month and the state’s unemployment rate continues to trend much higher than last year. State Rep. John Patrick Carney (D-Columbus) released the following statement in response to the news:

The state jobs report  for Nov. was released today, showing Ohio well-above the national unemployment rate with 427,000 Ohioans still looking for work. The U.S. economy is growing at the fastest pace since late 2011, but Ohio lost 12,000 jobs last month and the state’s unemployment rate continues to trend much higher than last year. State Rep. Debbie Phillips (D-Albany) released the following statement in response to the news:

“As the U.S. economy expands at the fastest pace since 2011, the number of unemployed Ohioans remains at an abysmal 427,000. Gov. Kasich’s top-down economic policies are in full-effect, and it’s no coincidence that Ohio was number 1 in the  nation for job loss in November. Ohio is moving in the wrong direction. Instead of catering to special interests, we should be prioritizing our middle class families, investing in our schools and communities and restoring accountability to the failing so-called economic development agency JobsOhio.”

Once again, Secretary Husted has revealed how rare of a problem so-called voter fraud is in Ohio compared with the real problems in our elections. Thirteen months after the November 2012 election, the Secretary is focused on 0.0003% of the 5.63 million votes cast. In that same election, over 47,000 voters had their ballots thrown out and over 3 million Ohioans did not participate in their election at all. When will the Secretary hold a press conference on this much larger number of voters and the real problems in Ohio elections?

The Secretary of State already has approval under Ohio law to implement full online voter registration. The website is already built and he should switch it on. He does not need additional legislative action. Online voter registration would simplify the process for voters and election officials to register and to verify registrations with fewer errors and with huge cost savings. 

There are already mechanisms in the law to prevent non-citizens from voting and to punish illegal voting.  These laws should continue to be enforced and illegal voting should not be tolerated.

In response to Gov. Kasich’s year-in-review speech given to members of the business community today, House Democratic Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus) released the following statement:

“Cuts to communities and tax breaks that favor the rich have hurt the middle class and stymied Ohio's economic recovery. Ohio is one of the worst states in the country for job creation over the last 12 months and our unemployment is now higher than the national rate. Instead of favoring special friends and special interests, we need to start putting working and middle class families first."