Policy Matters Ohio

Ohio Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and Democratic candidate Amy Acton have proposed property tax relief plans. A nonpartisan tax expert criticized Ramaswamy's proposal to roll back taxes to 2020 levels as impractical without state funding, while calling Acton's rebate and homestead exemption plan sensible but insufficient.

CNBC ranked Ohio as the top state for business, with Republican leaders attributing it to their economic policies. However, the ranking focuses on states' self-marketing criteria rather than job quality or economic outcomes, and critics argue it overlooks financial struggles of many Ohioans due to policy changes favoring corporations and the wealthy.

A report found four of Ohio's 10 most-common jobs pay so little that a full-time worker supporting a family of three would qualify for federal food assistance, with 84.5% of all jobs in the state offering median wages below the estimated cost of living for such a family. The analysis links stagnant wages to decades of tax cuts favoring corporations and the wealthy, which have not delivered promised economic benefits.

Ohio lost 2,400 jobs in May, with 58,000 fewer workers in the labor force compared to last year despite a growing working-age population. Unemployment fell to 3.7%, but concerns persist over declining labor participation and rising inflation, which hit 4.2%, a three-year high.

Ohio lawmakers introduced legislation to increase transparency in the EdChoice voucher program, which provides taxpayer funds to private schools. The proposed bill would mandate audits, academic reporting, and background checks, but Republican leadership is unlikely to enforce stricter oversight. Public schools face underfunding while EdChoice received $2.5 billion in the last budget.