Policy Matters Ohio
Formation | January 2000 |
---|---|
Type | Nonprofit |
Purpose | economic policy |
Location | |
Executive Director | Amy Hanauer |
Affiliations | EARN, Demos, Apollo Alliance, Economic Policy Institute |
Website | www.policymattersohio.org |
Policy Matters Ohio is an Ohio-based nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research organization founded in January 2000. Its research focuses on economic issues facing low- and middle-income workers in Ohio. Through research, advocacy, and media work, Policy Matters aims to promote fair economic development for all workers. [1] Policy Matters is a member of the Greater Cleveland Community Shares, and was honored as the "Member Organization of the Year" for 2008 [2]. The Nation Magazine called Policy Matters the "most valuable state or regional group" in the country, praising it as "intellectually rigorous, yet accessible in its approach." [3]
Policy Matters Ohio receives financial support from a number of foundations, organizations and individuals, including The Joyce Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, the Sisters of Charity Foundation, the New World Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Heinz Endowment, the Open Society Institute, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, KnowledgeWorks, the Public Welfare Foundation and Greater Cleveland Community Shares.
Staff
- Amy Hanauer, Executive Director
- Zach Schiller, Research Director
- Piet Van Lier, Researcher
- David Rothstein, Researcher
- Wendy Patton, Researcher
- Kahlil Huff, Communications Director
- Pam Rosado, Outreach Coordinator
- Amanda Woodrum, Policy Liason
- Shanelle Smith, Apollo Alliance Organizer
Interns
- Alexander Hurst, Amherst College '12
- Eric Lu, Harvard University '12
- Kevin Rinz, Northwestern University '10
- Austin Thompson, Howard University '09
- Mirela Turc, Case Western Reserve University '11
- Sapna Mehta, The Ohio State University '08
- Tim Kreuger, Cornell University '08
- Julie Van Wagenen, Ohio University '10
Board of Directors[4]
Current Board
- Chair - Joyce Goldstein, Attorney, Joyce Goldstein & Associates
- Secretary - Susan Helper, Professor, Case Western Reserve University
- Treasurer - David Meganhardt, Executive Director, United Labor Agency
- Officer-at-Large - Blaine A. Griffin, Executive Director, Community Relations Board, City of Cleveland
- Harriet Appelgate, Executive Secretary, North Shore Federation of Labor
- David Bergholz
- Michael Charney, Director, Youth Voices for Economic Justice
- Chris Howell, Professor, Oberlin College
- Bakari Kitwana, Author, Why White Kids Love Rap, The Hip Hop Generation, The Rap on Gangsta Rap
- Susannah Muskovitz, Attorney, Faulkner, Muskovitz and Phillips
- Seth Rosen, Vice President, Communication Workers of America, District Four
- Baldemar Velasquez, Founder and President, Farm Labor Organizing Committee
- George Zeller, Economic Research Analyst
Founding Board
- Anne Hill
- C.J. Prentiss
- John W. Ryan
- Alvin L. Schorr
- Mark Cassell, Ph.D.
- John Corlett
Recent Policy Reports
Policy Matters has published over 260 reports on economic development, education, and sustainability. These are the most recent reports on these fields.
Economic Development
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
Paying More, Renting Debt[5] | A report about the perils to consumers posed by the rent-to-own industry. |
Spending By Another Name[6] | The 2009 Ohio tax expenditure report. |
Trade Adjustment Assistance: New Opportunities for Ohio's Workers [7] | Makes recommendations on increasing participation in the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. |
Forclosure Growth in Ohio 2009 [8] | Highlights the increase in foreclosure filings and advocates for state action. |
Sheriff Sales in Ohio 2008 [9] | Addresses the increase in Sheriff's Sales and advocates for action to stabilize communities. |
State of Working Ohio 2008 [10] | Examines what has happened to wages, equity, work, productivity and unemployment in 2008. |
Public Benefits Subsidize Major Ohio Employers [11] | Examines state and federal costs for Medicaid, food stamps, and cash assistance for the 50 employers in Ohio that rely most heavily on the public sector to help compensate their workforce. |
Ocupational Shortages in Healthcare and Manufacturing[12] | Urges the state to focus on employers that are actively addressing job quality and help them develop a comprehensive, long-term human resource strategy that provides meaningful career opportunities for workers. |
Education
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
10th grade promotion rates in an attempt to lower the high school dropout rate. | |
Leaders at Many Levels: Improving Schools Through Collaboration In Ohio [14] | |
providing universal, voluntary Pre-K for three- and four-year-olds. | |
state-wide. | |
Analyzing Autism Vouchers in Ohio [17] |
Tax Policy
Spending By Another Name: The 2009 Ohio Tax Expenditure Report [18] Reviews tax breaks and their associated foregone revenue and recommends elimination of unnecessary credits and exemptions
Business Tax Revamp: A Deficit in the Making [19] Reviews the effects to date of tax changes on state and local government revenues, what the overhaul has meant for different types of companies and industries and how the effects have compared with how the reform was promoted
Connecting Free Tax Preparation and Asset Building: Cuyahoga EITC Coalition client study [20] Analysis of Cuyahoga County Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition clients
The 2005 Tax Overhaul and Ohio's Economy [21] Recommends revising our current tax structure to raise adequate amounts of revenue and enable the state to provide public services at a time of economic crisis
Federal Estate Tax covers few Ohioans [22] Explains why the threshold of the tax needs to be restored, not set permanently at a lower level than it was prior to the cuts
Limiting Loopholes: A dozen tax breaks Ohio can do without [23] Identifies tax breaks the elimination or limitation of which would make Ohio's tax system more fair and generate additional revenue
Who takes credit: The Earned Income Tax Credit in Franklin County 2008 [24] Analyzes the benefits of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites run by the Franklin County Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition
Capital Gains and Dividend Tax Cuts: No boon to the middle class [25] Reductions in taxes on investment income disproportionately benefit the wealthy and do not result in a increase in tax revenue.
A Step Toward Fiscal Balance: Options for Ohio's Income Tax [26] Recommends measures to address Ohio's budget shortfall
Statement on the Budget Shortfall [27] Testimony regarding Ohio's budget shortfall
Who Takes Credit: The Earned Income Tax Credit and Free Tax Preparation in Ohio [28] Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites in Cuyahoga County helped many working families receive the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Sustainability
Report Name | Description |
---|---|
The Apollo Alliance Green MAP Proposal and the Ohio Economy [29] Maps out firms that currently produce in sectors that serve new energy markets. | |
Carbon Cap And Invest (In Ohio) [30] Briefing paper on green jobs. | |
Good Bulbs, Bad Jobs [31] Explores the conditions of workers at a Chinese manufacturing plant that produces CFLs for General Electric. |
References
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/aboutpmo.html
- ^ http://www.communityshares.org/pressreleases/powerlunch.html
- ^ http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/392577/most_valuable_progressives_of_2008?rel=hp_blogs_box
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/board.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/pdf/RentToOwn2009.pdf
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/OhioTaxExpenditures2009.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/TradeAdjustmentAssistance2009.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/ForeclosureGrowthOhio2009.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/SheriffSales2008.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/sowo_08.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/PublicBenefits2008.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/OccupationalShortages2008.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/OhioGradRate2009.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/LeadersAtManyLevels.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/Pre-KPinch.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/LearningFromOhiosBest.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/AnalyzingAutismVouchers.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/OhioTaxExpenditures2009.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/BusinessTaxRevamp2009.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/FreeTaxPrep2008.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/2005TaxOverhaul.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/FederalEstateTax2008.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/LimitingLoopholes2008.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/pdf/WhoTakesCredit2008.pdf
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/CapGainsDivTaxCuts2008_0513.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/StepTowardFiscalBalance.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/StatementOnTheBudgetShortfall2008_0227.htm
- ^ http://www.policymattersohio.org/publications.htm#tax_policy
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/GreenMAPBriefing2009.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/CarbonCapInvest2009.htm
- ^ http://policymattersohio.org/GoodBulbsBadJobs.htm