Here we go..........
READ these facts: tell me how we are living or leaving a better country than our parents or grandparents left. It's bullshit and people need to figure out why the government is allowing this to happen.
You can't have a money for education if you don't have a tax base for it. You can't develop a tax base unless you have the jobs that pay high enough wages. You can't get good paying jobs if you don't have the educated workers..... hmmmmm a cycle isn't it. Saddest thing is notice Ohio has the 7th Largest state economy, only 19 states are doing better financially for families.... means 30 are worse off than this.
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Changes recommended in adult education and training and state tax policy to
help low-income working families get ahead and advance Ohio's economy.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Although Ohio has the seventh
largest state economy in the nation, one out of four working families with
children earns so little they have difficulty meeting basic needs, and one in
five jobs in the state -- about 1 million jobs -- pays less than a poverty-
level wage, finds a report released today.
Nineteen other states are doing better than Ohio in the percent of working
families with children who are low-income. Ohio trails other states in efforts
to help its nearly 350,000 low-income working families in such areas as adult
education and training, unemployment insurance and tax burden, the report
shows.
"Average Isn't Enough: Advancing Working Families," provides a
groundbreaking, comprehensive look at Ohio's low-income working families and
the efforts of state programs and policies to help them get ahead in the new
service and knowledge economy.
The report concludes that to achieve economic progress, the state must do more to enable all Ohio families that work hard to be self-sufficient. The
research, which assembles a wide range of data about the condition of these
families, the Ohio economy, and the state's efforts on behalf of low-income
working families, finds many opportunities for change:
--
Only one of Ohio's ten occupations with the
highest number of annual job openings pays an average hourly wage
above 200 percent of the poverty level for a full-time worker. Ohio's
two largest employers, based on state estimates, are Wal-Mart Stores
and the Kroger Company.
-- Twenty-one percent of Ohio's low-income working families -- 74,000
families -- have a parent who has not complete high school or a GED,
and an estimated 44-49 percent of Ohioans age 16 and over have poor
literacy skills. Yet Ohio has the 35th lowest state expenditure rate
for adult basic and literacy education programs, spending only $13.07 a
year per Ohio adult without a high school diploma or GED.
-- Sixty-eight percent of Ohio's low-income working families -- 200,000
families -- have an adult without any postsecondary education. Yet Ohio
lags behind 20 other states in need-based financial aid, providing only
31 percent of the amount of federal Pell Grants received by Ohio
students. In addition, Ohio does not provide financial aid to adults
seeking short-term, non-degree career classes.
-- One out of ten Ohio adults -- 575,000 workers -- is not fully employed,
a percentage worse than 34 other states. But Ohio's unemployment
insurance system does not provide an adequate safety net for the
lowest-income workers. A minimum wage worker working 35 hours weekly
does not meet Ohio's current $181 average weekly wage requirement to
quality for unemployment benefits.
-- Ninety-six thousand Ohio working families with children are living in
poverty, yet Ohio levies taxes on families with lower incomes than in
all but five states. An Ohio family of three who earns as little as
$13,000 a year must pay state income tax.
"Families who do the right thing by working hard should not have to
struggle with the basic necessities of life. Fortunately, Ohio has many assets
on which to build a solid agenda to improve the lives of the state's low-
income working families," said Roberta Garber, executive director of Community Research Partners in Columbus. "The success of these families in education and employment is key to moving Ohio's economy forward, which we know is a top priority for state leaders."
The Ohio Working Poor Families Project report was prepared by Community
Research Partners, a Columbus based non-profit research organization, in
collaboration with the Center for Community Solutions in Cleveland, the John
Glenn Institute at The Ohio State University and KnowledgeWorks Foundation.
The findings of the Ohio report dovetail with those in the October 2004
national report, "Working Hard, Falling Short", which highlighted the
conditions and challenges facing low-income working families in the U.S. Both
reports were produced as part of the Working Poor Families Project. Supported by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, and Rockefeller Foundations, the project spotlights issues confronting low-income working families and recommends policy changes to improve their economic standing. Information on the project and copies of other state reports are available
at
http://www.aecf.org/initiatives/jobs...orkingpoor.htm .
Community Research Partners is a partnership of United Way of Central
Ohio, the City of Columbus and the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and
Public Policy at The Ohio State University.
An embargoed release of the report, "Average Isn't Enough: Advancing
Working Families," is available on the Community Research Partners
website:
http://www.communityresearchpartners.org .
For more information on Ohio's low-income working families and the state's
efforts to help them develop economic security, contact Roberta Garber at
Community Research Partners, 410-234-8046 or Emily Hedrick, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, 513-929-1132.
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link:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...2456841&EDATE=