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The State of Ohio

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A decision comes out on an abortion-related law, but still no ruling on another one. Republicans launch a drive for volunteers to watch for problems at the polls. A Labor Day look at how Ohio workers are faring. Studio guests are Sec of State Frank LaRose (R), Policy Matters Ohio exec. dir. Hannah Halbert, and Buckeye Institute research fellow Greg Lawson.

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00:00:39	A decision comes out
00:00:39	on an abortion related law,
00:00:41	but still no ruling on
00:00:41	another one.
00:00:44	Republicans
00:00:44	launch a drive for volunteers
00:00:46	to watch for problems
00:00:46	at the polls.
00:00:48	And a Labor Day.
00:00:49	Look at how Ohio workers
00:00:49	are faring this weekend.
00:00:52	The state of Ohio.
00:01:11	Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:13	I'm Karen Kasler,
00:01:14	a Franklin
00:01:15	County judge has blocked one
00:01:15	abortion related state law,
00:01:18	and another court has delayed
00:01:20	once again its decision
00:01:20	on a different law.
00:01:23	Late last week, Judge David
00:01:23	Young halted Ohio's 2021 law
00:01:27	requiring a 24 hour
00:01:27	waiting period
00:01:29	before a patient
00:01:29	can get an abortion.
00:01:31	He wrote.
00:01:32	The five abortion providers,
00:01:32	which sued over the law,
00:01:35	have a strong
00:01:35	likelihood of success
00:01:37	on the merits of the case,
00:01:38	and the plaintiffs, quote,
00:01:38	are suffering injury each day.
00:01:41	Their constitutional rights
00:01:41	are infringed upon and, quote,
00:01:44	the state argued
00:01:44	the law does not violate
00:01:47	the reproductive rights
00:01:47	constitutional amendment
00:01:49	approved by voters last fall,
00:01:49	saying the waiting period
00:01:52	and the information
00:01:53	that must be provided
00:01:53	to patients
00:01:55	are part of informed consent.
00:01:57	But young cited last year's
00:01:57	analysis of the issue
00:02:00	from Republican Attorney
00:02:00	General David Yost,
00:02:03	which said the amendment
00:02:03	would make it harder
00:02:05	for the state to maintain
00:02:05	many abortion related laws.
00:02:08	And young wrote,
00:02:09	the amendment's
00:02:09	language is again
00:02:11	quoting clear and unambiguous
00:02:11	end quote,
00:02:14	the state is appealing.
00:02:15	Meanwhile, a Hamilton County
00:02:15	judge has once again delayed
00:02:18	his ruling on Ohio's six week
00:02:18	abortion ban.
00:02:21	Providers sued when the ban
00:02:21	went into effect in June 2022,
00:02:25	following the U.S.
00:02:25	Supreme Court's decision
00:02:26	overturning a federal right
00:02:26	to abortion.
00:02:29	But Judge Christian Jenkins
00:02:30	blocked the law
00:02:30	a few weeks later,
00:02:32	the case went to the Ohio
00:02:32	Supreme Court,
00:02:34	which sent it back to Hamilton
00:02:34	County after the passage
00:02:37	of the Reproductive
00:02:37	Rights Amendment.
00:02:38	The ruling has been delayed
00:02:38	twice before.
00:02:42	Voter fraud is extremely rare
00:02:42	in Ohio, is often mentioned
00:02:45	as having the gold standard
00:02:45	of election and voting laws,
00:02:48	workers in every county.
00:02:48	with bipartisan elections
00:02:51	But Republicans say they plan
00:02:52	to bring in thousands
00:02:52	of volunteers
00:02:54	to watch for issues
00:02:54	on Election Day nationwide
00:02:57	and in Ohio
00:02:59	with what it's calling
00:02:59	the Protect the Vote tour.
00:03:02	The Republican National
00:03:02	Committee wants to find
00:03:04	thousands of volunteers
00:03:05	to serve as poll workers
00:03:05	and observers,
00:03:08	hoping to have 5018 states,
00:03:08	including Ohio.
00:03:11	is you need to be in the room
00:03:11	when the votes are being cast
00:03:15	and the votes are being
00:03:15	counted.
00:03:17	That's why we're here today.
00:03:19	We are
00:03:20	here today because we
00:03:20	are going to recruit and train
00:03:24	thousands of folks
00:03:26	to work as poll observers
00:03:28	and poll workers
00:03:28	on Election Day
00:03:30	and during the early vote
00:03:30	process.
00:03:32	RNC Chair Michael Whatley
00:03:32	held the event with Attorney
00:03:35	General Dave Yost and former
00:03:35	Florida AG Pam Bondi,
00:03:39	an ally of former
00:03:39	President Trump,
00:03:41	who served
00:03:41	as one of his lawyers
00:03:43	during his first impeachment
00:03:43	trial.
00:03:45	Whatley said this effort
00:03:46	will create more confidence
00:03:46	in the election system,
00:03:49	and he's not concerned
00:03:49	about voter intimidation.
00:03:52	No. I think one of the things
00:03:52	that we focus on,
00:03:54	in the training sessions
00:03:56	is making sure
00:03:56	that we respect the process,
00:03:58	we respect the poll workers,
00:04:00	and we respect,
00:04:00	most importantly, the voters.
00:04:02	and Whatley said they'll work
00:04:02	with county officials
00:04:05	to ensure election systems
00:04:05	work correctly.
00:04:08	And when they do,
00:04:08	people are going
00:04:08	to have more confidence
00:04:10	and they're going to be more
00:04:10	inclined to come out there.
00:04:12	If we have even
00:04:13	1% of voters
00:04:14	stay home
00:04:14	because they don't think
00:04:15	their vote
00:04:15	is going to be protected.
00:04:17	That's a huge problem.
00:04:18	what?
00:04:19	Lee also says
00:04:19	the RNC will hire
00:04:21	thousands of attorneys
00:04:22	to observe nationwide
00:04:22	on Election Day.
00:04:25	This comes as former President
00:04:25	Donald Trump has said
00:04:27	his focus is not on voter
00:04:27	turnout among Republicans,
00:04:31	but instead to watch
00:04:31	Democrats, quote,
00:04:33	to make sure they don't cheat
00:04:35	because we have all the votes
00:04:35	we'll need and quote.
00:04:38	Trump has made unfounded
00:04:38	claims about widespread
00:04:41	election fraud since 2016
00:04:41	and continues to falsely state
00:04:45	the 2020 election was stolen
00:04:45	from him.
00:04:47	The attempt
00:04:47	to bring in more poll
00:04:49	workers has the interest
00:04:49	of both voting rights groups
00:04:52	and Republican Secretary
00:04:52	of State Frank LaRosa.
00:04:55	But Catherine Tercer,
00:04:55	with common cause Ohio,
00:04:57	which is part of the Ohio
00:04:57	Voter Rights Coalition,
00:05:00	said efforts focusing
00:05:01	solely on fraud
00:05:01	could have a negative effect.
00:05:05	Unfortunately,
00:05:05	they often make voters
00:05:10	question everything,
00:05:10	and I think it's so important
00:05:14	that we don't just assume
00:05:14	everything is working
00:05:16	smoothly,
00:05:16	that we're thoughtful
00:05:18	and we pay attention.
00:05:19	But efforts like this
00:05:19	can cause everybody
00:05:23	to be worried that
00:05:23	things aren't fair, or that
00:05:26	something is going wrong
00:05:26	behind the scenes.
00:05:29	Now, a cure to
00:05:29	this is to actually,
00:05:32	you know, go to the Board
00:05:32	of Elections meetings.
00:05:35	Tercer
00:05:35	has been on opposite sides
00:05:37	of LA, Rose on redistricting
00:05:37	and some voting laws.
00:05:40	But on that last point,
00:05:40	they agree.
00:05:42	being a poll worker,
00:05:42	an actual election official
00:05:46	is far better than being
00:05:46	a so-called poll watcher.
00:05:49	It's right there in the name.
00:05:50	If you're a watcher,
00:05:50	all you can do is watch.
00:05:53	And if something's happening
00:05:53	that you don't agree with
00:05:55	or you think violates the law,
00:05:55	you can watch it happen.
00:05:58	You can walk outside
00:05:59	and call the hotline number
00:05:59	they give you.
00:06:01	And maybe,
00:06:02	you know,
00:06:02	the lawyers will get in touch
00:06:03	with that county's
00:06:03	Board of elections and
00:06:05	And Lareau said his focus on
00:06:05	election
00:06:07	integrity did not start
00:06:07	when former
00:06:10	President Trump started
00:06:10	making his unfounded claims
00:06:13	about the 2020 election
00:06:13	being stolen.
00:06:15	always have concerns
00:06:15	about voter fraud.
00:06:17	I wouldn't call it widespread,
00:06:17	but I would say that
00:06:20	it's important that we keep it
00:06:20	rare.
00:06:22	Voter fraud is rare,
00:06:22	and we keep it rare
00:06:25	by aggressively
00:06:25	enforcing the law.
00:06:27	And that's why
00:06:28	there's this disconnect where
00:06:28	I'll see people say, well,
00:06:31	why do you care about voter
00:06:31	fraud?
00:06:33	Or why do you remove voters
00:06:33	from the voter rolls?
00:06:35	Or why do you refer people
00:06:35	for prosecution?
00:06:37	Voter fraud is so rare.
00:06:39	That's like saying,
00:06:41	carjackings are rare
00:06:41	in my neighborhood.
00:06:43	Thank God they are.
00:06:44	But if one happens, I want
00:06:44	the police to investigate it.
00:06:47	There's never been a credible
00:06:47	allegation of mass voter
00:06:50	fraud in Ohio.
00:06:51	Again,
00:06:51	voter fraud is very rare.
00:06:53	Experts say Ohio is likely
00:06:53	to end up going to Trump.
00:06:56	But the US Senate race
00:06:56	between Democratic incumbent
00:06:58	Sherrod Brown and northeast
00:07:00	Ohio businessman Bernie
00:07:00	Marino will likely be close.
00:07:04	The last year has been
00:07:04	a good one for Ohio workers,
00:07:06	according to the annual Labor
00:07:06	Day report of the progressive
00:07:09	leaning think tank Policy
00:07:09	Matters. Ohio.
00:07:11	The state gained back
00:07:11	all of the jobs
00:07:14	it lost in the recession
00:07:14	as of May 2023, and as job
00:07:18	growth continued,
00:07:18	the state reached its largest
00:07:20	number of jobs in its history.
00:07:22	Wages
00:07:22	grew and outpaced inflation,
00:07:25	and unemployment
00:07:25	hit a record low of 3.3%.
00:07:28	But the report says
00:07:28	pay is still too low.
00:07:31	The jobless rate
00:07:31	has been rising.
00:07:33	There are still gender
00:07:33	and racial pay gaps, and state
00:07:36	tax cuts
00:07:36	have helped the wealthy
00:07:38	and corporate interests
00:07:38	to create
00:07:39	what it calls a rigged
00:07:39	economy.
00:07:41	Policy matters Ohio
00:07:41	Executive Director
00:07:43	Hannah Halbert
00:07:43	is a coauthor of the report.
00:07:46	And she talked my Statehouse
00:07:46	news Bureau colleague
00:07:48	Joe Ingles on paper,
00:07:48	2023 is one of the best
00:07:53	looking years for Ohio workers
00:07:53	in recent memory.
00:07:58	So we had, wage
00:07:58	growth at the median.
00:08:02	So the typical worker
00:08:02	so the person there
00:08:04	at the median typical wage
00:08:04	in Ohio actually saw wage
00:08:08	growth, significant,
00:08:08	wage growth.
00:08:11	We caught up to median wages,
00:08:11	nationally,
00:08:16	which is
00:08:16	something that has not
00:08:16	happened in decades in Ohio.
00:08:21	We saw
00:08:21	that broadly, wages increase.
00:08:25	So it wasn't
00:08:25	just those in the middle
00:08:28	or the trend that had been
00:08:28	happening for several years
00:08:31	where wage
00:08:31	growth tended to happen
00:08:33	at the upper limits
00:08:33	of the wage scale,
00:08:36	but not so much
00:08:36	for the bottom 60%.
00:08:40	That was different.
00:08:42	So we saw wage growth
00:08:42	across the the income scales.
00:08:46	And particularly for the
00:08:46	lowest paid workers in Ohio.
00:08:49	So the people
00:08:49	that really needed to get
00:08:52	a better bang for their labor
00:08:52	saw it last year.
00:08:55	Well, let me ask
00:08:55	all good news.
00:08:58	Yeah, that is good news,
00:08:58	except that we saw
00:09:02	a lot of push
00:09:02	to get a $15 minimum wage,
00:09:05	and that didn't make it end up
00:09:05	making it to the ballot.
00:09:08	But is there a need for a $15
00:09:08	minimum
00:09:11	wage with your report?
00:09:11	Absolutely.
00:09:14	The problem
00:09:14	with all of this wage growth
00:09:16	and what the
00:09:17	economy for working
00:09:17	people looks like on paper,
00:09:20	and what is actually happening
00:09:20	in reality,
00:09:23	couldn't be more different.
00:09:27	So despite all of this
00:09:27	improvement, working
00:09:30	people are still
00:09:30	highly insecure in Ohio.
00:09:34	So one good year is not enough
00:09:37	to overcome decades of,
00:09:41	having wages
00:09:41	pushed down by market forces.
00:09:47	So, we are heading
00:09:47	in a better direction.
00:09:51	But Ohio, where people
00:09:51	are still not able to, afford
00:09:56	that high quality of living,
00:09:56	sort of the kind of lifestyle
00:09:59	that they may remember
00:09:59	their grandparents living,
00:10:02	where you could,
00:10:02	pay your bills, maybe
00:10:06	take a vacation in the summer,
00:10:06	not have to worry so much.
00:10:10	That's still out of reach
00:10:10	for a lot of working Ohioans.
00:10:13	And, it's because
00:10:13	we've allowed the wage scale.
00:10:18	We have not had working
00:10:18	people share in the wealth
00:10:22	that they have been creating
00:10:22	in the same way
00:10:25	that they shared
00:10:25	in that wealth
00:10:27	back in like pre 1979,
00:10:27	pre mid 80s.
00:10:31	Right.
00:10:32	And so for people
00:10:32	to get out of this
00:10:35	you know you hear
00:10:35	it called the vibe session.
00:10:38	I think it's
00:10:38	it really is like
00:10:41	it's time to do deep
00:10:41	investment in working people.
00:10:44	We've seen that
00:10:44	what's been going on
00:10:48	with the federal
00:10:48	spending is working.
00:10:50	We see like,
00:10:50	not just Ohio, but broadly
00:10:53	in the Midwest economies
00:10:53	recovering for working people.
00:10:57	We got to stay on track
00:10:57	and do many more years of that
00:11:00	so people can actually
00:11:00	feel secure again.
00:11:03	Did you look at inflation
00:11:03	and what effect that has
00:11:06	on working people in Ohio?
00:11:08	Yeah, we we did
00:11:08	look at inflation
00:11:10	and the wage growth
00:11:10	that I mentioned is actually,
00:11:14	adjusted for inflation.
00:11:16	So those wage increases
00:11:16	beat the overall inflation.
00:11:20	Right, right.
00:11:22	The problem is,
00:11:22	is that inflation
00:11:25	isn't universally felt.
00:11:26	So, the rate of inflation
00:11:26	for things
00:11:30	like housing or groceries
00:11:30	was higher than that.
00:11:34	Overall general inflation.
00:11:34	Right? Right.
00:11:37	So if you're a working person,
00:11:39	a big chunk of your income
00:11:39	goes just to the basics.
00:11:42	You don't have
00:11:42	a lot of disposable cash
00:11:44	sitting around.
00:11:45	And so when the the basics,
00:11:45	when the cost on those basics
00:11:48	like groceries
00:11:48	and housing goes up,
00:11:51	you're going to feel that
00:11:51	in a way
00:11:53	that maybe someone
00:11:53	at a higher income
00:11:55	that has a smaller
00:11:56	share of money
00:11:56	going to those things
00:11:58	just isn't going
00:11:58	to have the same impact.
00:12:00	And so that's what
00:12:00	a lot of Ohioans are feeling.
00:12:03	So even though overall wages
00:12:03	are improving, the
00:12:08	the thing is
00:12:08	the kinds of things
00:12:10	that have outpaced,
00:12:10	general inflation, it's
00:12:13	the kinds of stuff
00:12:13	they most need.
00:12:15	So that hurts.
00:12:15	That really does hurt.
00:12:17	We looked at the some of
00:12:17	the drivers of inflation
00:12:21	because I think a lot of folks
00:12:21	or some of the so-called
00:12:25	common sense on
00:12:25	this has been like,
00:12:26	oh, well, it's the wages
00:12:26	driving inflation.
00:12:30	And that's what
00:12:30	and that's not accurate.
00:12:34	It's just not
00:12:34	what is seen in the data.
00:12:36	What we have seen
00:12:36	is that profits corporate
00:12:39	profits are the,
00:12:39	have are responsible
00:12:43	for an outsized share
00:12:43	of that inflationary increase.
00:12:47	And this is different
00:12:47	than other inflationary
00:12:50	periods in the past
00:12:50	where wages were a larger,
00:12:55	driver
00:12:55	of those price increases.
00:12:57	Now it's just profits. And so
00:13:02	I think people see that, too.
00:13:04	I think people have a sense
00:13:04	that this isn't
00:13:07	just the market, but
00:13:07	there's some gouging going on.
00:13:12	And the response
00:13:12	from both federal and state
00:13:15	governments has just been
00:13:15	to deal with the interest rate
00:13:19	side of things like treat this
00:13:19	like old time inflation
00:13:23	instead of really addressing
00:13:23	this root cause, which is,
00:13:27	excessive price gouging,
00:13:27	a price increasing.
00:13:31	We've always heard
00:13:31	trickle down economics.
00:13:34	I mean, we've heard that
00:13:34	since the 80s at least.
00:13:36	Are are the is there
00:13:39	this seems to prove that
00:13:39	trickle down economics
00:13:43	are not really working,
00:13:43	but that's that's
00:13:45	from what I'm hearing here.
00:13:46	Is that your assessment.
00:13:46	That's right.
00:13:49	Hopefully we've
00:13:49	we are learning some lessons.
00:13:52	So after the great Recession,
00:13:54	I think the federal
00:13:54	government, really saw that
00:14:00	if you want
00:14:00	to get out of a recession,
00:14:03	you need to have spending
00:14:03	big enough for the problem
00:14:06	you're trying to invest.
00:14:07	And so we saw historic
00:14:07	spending during the Covid
00:14:12	pandemic
00:14:12	to keep families afloat,
00:14:14	whether it's the child tax
00:14:14	credit, the stimulus payments,
00:14:18	the payments
00:14:18	to small businesses, payments
00:14:21	to state
00:14:21	and local governments,
00:14:23	and then that was supplemented
00:14:25	with big investments
00:14:25	in infrastructure.
00:14:28	We see a lot of that
00:14:28	happening now in the state.
00:14:31	And that set the stage
00:14:31	so that when the pandemic
00:14:35	started to subside,
00:14:38	Ohio and
00:14:38	the rest of the country
00:14:39	was open
00:14:39	and ready for business.
00:14:41	People came back.
00:14:43	It set the stage for rapid
00:14:43	job growth
00:14:46	and that job growth is
00:14:46	what is creating
00:14:50	the tight labor market,
00:14:50	the low unemployment,
00:14:53	and allowing us to finally,
00:14:53	finally have you know,
00:14:57	a little bit of parity
00:14:57	for working people
00:14:59	whenever they're, out
00:14:59	looking for a job.
00:15:01	It's not just an employer
00:15:01	labor market anymore.
00:15:04	Oh, how has,
00:15:07	fewer than, one job opening
00:15:11	per worker for worker now
00:15:11	or there's fewer then, yeah.
00:15:15	So it's actually a favorable
00:15:15	time to be a working person.
00:15:20	You have options,
00:15:22	you can shop around
00:15:22	for a good deal,
00:15:24	or you can get
00:15:24	a better way out.
00:15:26	You can, you know, the,
00:15:30	the in it's called friction.
00:15:33	So if you were, at a job,
00:15:33	maybe the job doesn't pay
00:15:37	very well.
00:15:37	It's not the best job for you.
00:15:41	There's
00:15:41	call us to leaving that job
00:15:41	right.
00:15:44	Like,
00:15:44	and trying to find a new job.
00:15:47	Well, the pandemic,
00:15:47	a lot of people are already
00:15:50	out of a job, so they didn't
00:15:50	have that hurdle to overcome.
00:15:54	And then whenever we came back
00:15:54	online with rapid job
00:15:57	growth, people could
00:15:57	really look for a good job.
00:16:01	And so we're seeing
00:16:01	some of that show up in wages.
00:16:06	If you want an economy
00:16:08	that works for the middle
00:16:08	class, you have to build
00:16:11	an economy designed
00:16:11	to support a middle class.
00:16:15	The state of working Ohio
00:16:15	looks good to the conservative
00:16:18	think tank, the Buckeye
00:16:18	Institute as well.
00:16:20	But research fellow Greg
00:16:20	Lawson told Joe Ingles
00:16:23	he has some different ideas
00:16:23	on how to improve things.
00:16:27	I think there's
00:16:27	a lot of things
00:16:28	that are happening
00:16:28	that are good for workers.
00:16:29	We obviously, notwithstanding
00:16:29	some of the issues
00:16:32	with Intel nationally,
00:16:32	all the signs are go at Intel.
00:16:35	Obviously,
00:16:35	that's going to be a huge
00:16:37	economic development project,
00:16:38	not just for Central Ohio,
00:16:40	but with all the supply
00:16:40	chains, everything else.
00:16:42	We're seeing a lot of effort
00:16:42	in the education space,
00:16:44	in the certification space
00:16:44	for a lot of folks.
00:16:47	So I think that
00:16:47	there is an awful
00:16:48	lot of promise here in Ohio.
00:16:50	I do think
00:16:50	that we are running into
00:16:52	there's a few winds
00:16:53	that are starting to blow
00:16:53	in our direction.
00:16:54	We're starting
00:16:54	to see some things
00:16:56	where the unemployment
00:16:56	rate is tick back up.
00:16:57	And we've seen the labor force
00:16:57	participation or the people
00:17:00	that are actually out,
00:17:00	looking for work
00:17:03	is actually, declined
00:17:03	some and is not as good
00:17:05	as the National.
00:17:06	So those are things that we
00:17:06	definitely want to watch for,
00:17:09	because if we see any cooling
00:17:09	off in those kind of numbers,
00:17:11	that is a sign
00:17:11	that maybe things are starting
00:17:14	to kind of shift
00:17:14	a little bit against us.
00:17:16	And so we need to watch that.
00:17:17	But I think that there is
00:17:19	still a lot of promise,
00:17:19	a lot of opportunity.
00:17:22	Obviously,
00:17:22	there's a lot in central Ohio.
00:17:23	There's being a lot of effort
00:17:24	to try to expand that
00:17:24	to other parts of the state
00:17:26	so that we can expand
00:17:26	the prosperity.
00:17:28	And so I think it's positive,
00:17:30	I don't think it's
00:17:30	overwhelming yet.
00:17:32	I think we
00:17:33	there's still a lot of proof
00:17:33	that's going to have to,
00:17:34	you know, in the pudding,
00:17:34	so to speak, as time goes on.
00:17:37	So we're not
00:17:37	we're not where we need to be.
00:17:39	But I think that
00:17:39	there are some,
00:17:41	some trends,
00:17:41	that are helpful.
00:17:43	Let's talk about worker wages.
00:17:45	Where do those stand?
00:17:47	Are they ticking up?
00:17:48	They did tick up.
00:17:49	And we had a pretty good
00:17:49	post-Covid, bounce there.
00:17:52	I will say that
00:17:52	this is something
00:17:54	that Ohio has struggled with
00:17:54	for a while
00:17:55	is when you compare
00:17:55	Ohio to the nation,
00:17:58	we tend to do
00:17:58	a little bit below.
00:18:00	If you look at household
00:18:00	overall,
00:18:01	like median
00:18:01	household earnings.
00:18:03	And so we're a little bit
00:18:03	below where the nation is.
00:18:05	And so we do need to want to
00:18:05	see a little bit more there.
00:18:08	And that's
00:18:09	where a lot of these new sort
00:18:09	of information jobs,
00:18:12	a lot of the jobs
00:18:12	that are not necessarily
00:18:15	for your degree jobs, but jobs
00:18:17	where
00:18:17	you can get certifications
00:18:18	and things like that
00:18:18	to get into the workforce
00:18:20	pretty quickly
00:18:20	are very important,
00:18:22	because those are the things
00:18:22	where you can start
00:18:24	earning more money
00:18:24	more quickly.
00:18:26	So Ohio's a little bit below
00:18:26	where it really needs to be.
00:18:29	And, you know, I've,
00:18:30	I've talked for a while
00:18:30	about that,
00:18:32	that this is a challenge
00:18:32	that Ohio has,
00:18:34	that Ohio was the Rust
00:18:34	Belt state,
00:18:37	a quintessential Rust
00:18:37	Belt state.
00:18:38	And in some ways,
00:18:38	it kind of missed
00:18:40	some of the early era of
00:18:40	some of the changing economy.
00:18:43	We hear a lot
00:18:43	about the Silicon heartland
00:18:45	now because of Intel,
00:18:45	because of those things.
00:18:47	And I think, again,
00:18:47	all the promise, it's there,
00:18:50	but there's a lot more work
00:18:50	to be done.
00:18:52	So the incomes are not bad,
00:18:52	but we definitely could see
00:18:56	some improvement in that.
00:18:57	Now we're seeing signs
00:18:57	that inflation is, by
00:19:01	and large, going down
00:19:01	a little bit, inching lower.
00:19:05	But people still,
00:19:05	especially working people
00:19:09	who are on the lower
00:19:10	end are still
00:19:10	feeling the pinch
00:19:12	because when they go
00:19:12	to the grocery store,
00:19:14	the groceries are still high.
00:19:16	And when they go gas their
00:19:16	car, the gas is still high.
00:19:19	What
00:19:19	what's your take on that?
00:19:22	Well,
00:19:22	I think that we are starting
00:19:23	to see inflation stabilize.
00:19:25	It's unfortunate
00:19:26	because we literally
00:19:26	had the worst inflation
00:19:28	that we've seen in practically
00:19:28	a generation,
00:19:30	really since the late 70s,
00:19:30	in the early 80s.
00:19:32	So that is a
00:19:34	you can't really underestimate
00:19:35	how important
00:19:35	and profound that is.
00:19:37	And it does hit, folks,
00:19:39	that are lower to lower
00:19:39	middle income, Ohio.
00:19:42	It's much, much harder
00:19:42	because obviously
00:19:43	that makes up a much bigger
00:19:43	share of of their earnings
00:19:47	is the staples of daily life.
00:19:49	The milk, the eggs, the,
00:19:49	the food,
00:19:51	you know, all those things,
00:19:51	the kitchen table stuff.
00:19:53	So I think it's starting
00:19:53	to turn a corner.
00:19:58	I don't think
00:19:58	we're totally there yet.
00:19:59	I think that there and I think
00:19:59	it's going to take a while
00:20:02	for the wages to catch up.
00:20:03	So that is where
00:20:03	those two things
00:20:05	kind of are a little bit not
00:20:05	working real well together.
00:20:08	We have below the national
00:20:08	average in wages still moving
00:20:13	up, seeing improvement,
00:20:13	but not where we need to be.
00:20:15	And we're still in living,
00:20:15	with the after effects
00:20:18	of inflation.
00:20:19	And those are going
00:20:19	to really hurt,
00:20:21	those workers
00:20:23	that need the income
00:20:23	to move up more quickly.
00:20:24	So that's why
00:20:24	I think Ohio has promise.
00:20:27	But I think we have to be
00:20:27	very diligent, very careful,
00:20:30	and we need to really focus
00:20:30	in on our education.
00:20:32	We need to focus in
00:20:32	on our workforce training,
00:20:34	because we've got to get
00:20:34	people
00:20:35	moving up
00:20:35	the ladder of success
00:20:37	so that they could have upward
00:20:37	income mobility.
00:20:40	If we stay where we are today,
00:20:40	another five years,
00:20:43	then unfortunately
00:20:43	we're going to continue
00:20:46	to kind of missed the boat
00:20:46	a little bit here.
00:20:48	The opportunities
00:20:48	need to be taken advantage of.
00:20:51	You can't just
00:20:51	rest on your laurels
00:20:53	and think that we're
00:20:53	where we need to be
00:20:54	because we're not.
00:20:55	So I think that this is
00:20:55	a cautiously optimistic
00:20:59	sort of perspective.
00:21:00	But it really is, I hope,
00:21:00	a message to policymakers
00:21:03	to keep working on regulatory
00:21:03	reform, keep working on
00:21:06	not just tax fraud
00:21:06	at the state level,
00:21:08	but at the local level,
00:21:08	which is in some respects
00:21:10	an even bigger problem
00:21:10	than taxes at the state level.
00:21:13	And keep working
00:21:13	on the workforce training
00:21:14	and making sure
00:21:14	that our education is aligned
00:21:17	in such a way
00:21:17	that we have the skills
00:21:18	that the employers of today
00:21:18	need today.
00:21:22	So we saw earlier this year
00:21:22	where the $15
00:21:26	minimum wage amendment,
00:21:26	that went by the wayside.
00:21:30	They couldn't
00:21:30	get it on the ballot.
00:21:32	Do we need a minimum wage
00:21:32	increase in Ohio?
00:21:36	And, and how do you get those
00:21:36	workers on the lower end up?
00:21:40	Well,
00:21:40	I think answer number one
00:21:41	is not through
00:21:41	the Constitution like that.
00:21:43	No. You know, I think that
00:21:43	when you try to mandate
00:21:46	stuff
00:21:46	like that, you do see effects
00:21:48	that are not what you want
00:21:48	to see happen.
00:21:50	And one of the key things
00:21:50	is what you
00:21:53	a lot of the folks
00:21:53	who earn the minimum wage
00:21:54	aren't necessarily
00:21:54	like the single income earner.
00:21:57	They sometimes are teenagers
00:21:57	or another person
00:22:00	in the household, but there's
00:22:00	more than one person working.
00:22:02	So you want to be careful
00:22:02	that you allow people
00:22:05	to get into entry level jobs
00:22:05	and can move up
00:22:08	the job of somebody
00:22:08	who's on a minimum wage.
00:22:09	It shouldn't be
00:22:09	to stay on the minimum wage,
00:22:11	but is to get
00:22:11	those opportunities,
00:22:13	especially when they're new
00:22:13	in a career.
00:22:15	And maybe haven't done work
00:22:15	before
00:22:17	at the young,
00:22:17	young stages of life
00:22:17	and then move up that again,
00:22:20	I kind of call it
00:22:20	the ladder of success.
00:22:21	And it sounds a little cliche,
00:22:21	but it's really true.
00:22:24	You get that experience.
00:22:25	You you learn what you need
00:22:25	to know for the job.
00:22:27	You learn the interpersonal
00:22:27	skills and the dynamics
00:22:29	that you need to have
00:22:29	so that you can work
00:22:30	with people in all different,
00:22:30	layers of work and stuff.
00:22:34	And that's
00:22:34	when you start to climb up,
00:22:36	and we need to be able
00:22:36	to get the jobs
00:22:38	and the good paying jobs
00:22:38	so that they're there
00:22:40	so that
00:22:41	people can move
00:22:41	into those jobs as they get
00:22:43	the kind of training that
00:22:43	I was talking about earlier,
00:22:45	I think
00:22:45	that's a much better thing
00:22:45	than a,
00:22:47	some kind
00:22:47	of a government mandate
00:22:49	or put into the Constitution
00:22:49	especially.
00:22:51	That would even be worse
00:22:51	than doing it through statute,
00:22:53	because at least a statute
00:22:53	you can modify and watch it,
00:22:56	you put something like that
00:22:56	in the state
00:22:57	constitution, and it's
00:22:57	not modifiable and on.
00:23:00	You could end up
00:23:00	with a situation
00:23:01	where you have
00:23:01	a lot of problems.
00:23:03	I think that
00:23:03	if we do our workforce
00:23:05	training right,
00:23:05	we do the education right,
00:23:07	we can start moving
00:23:07	people there
00:23:08	so that people aren't
00:23:08	stuck in minimum wage jobs.
00:23:10	For for that at all, really.
00:23:12	And again, it's
00:23:12	all about the upward mobility.
00:23:15	The market really does work
00:23:18	if we have all these other
00:23:18	things getting people
00:23:20	the skills they need
00:23:20	so that they can
00:23:22	actually interact
00:23:22	with what's out there,
00:23:24	that the market is,
00:23:24	demanding.
00:23:26	know, since the 80s, we've
00:23:27	had kind of trickle down
00:23:27	economics.
00:23:30	And, people on the bottom
00:23:30	rung often say
00:23:34	that they're not feeling
00:23:34	the trickle.
00:23:35	They don't get it
00:23:35	doesn't make it down to them.
00:23:38	What about that?
00:23:39	I think this is the thing
00:23:39	that Ohio really needs to do
00:23:42	is look under the hood
00:23:42	and figure out how we can do
00:23:42	systemic reforms.
00:23:45	When you go to states
00:23:45	that are growing a lot,
00:23:47	when you see large population
00:23:48	growth down in southern states
00:23:48	or Sunbelt states,
00:23:51	those states tend to have
00:23:51	fewer layers of government.
00:23:54	They tend to have less per
00:23:54	capita government spending.
00:23:56	But they have higher private
00:23:56	sector activity.
00:23:59	Ohio is still struggling
00:23:59	to maximize that.
00:24:02	I think
00:24:02	that is what we are saying.
00:24:04	The trickle
00:24:05	down argument is, is not
00:24:05	you know, I know that
00:24:08	that's sort of the rhetoric
00:24:08	that's out there.
00:24:09	But at the end of the day,
00:24:10	it's about
00:24:10	can we get the private sector
00:24:12	empowered
00:24:12	to create the kind of jobs
00:24:14	or the high paying jobs
00:24:15	that get them off of minimum
00:24:15	wage, people off minimum wage?
00:24:18	But the only way to do that
00:24:19	is to have an ecosystem
00:24:19	that allows for innovation.
00:24:23	We're seeing some of it
00:24:23	in Columbus.
00:24:26	I don't know that we're seeing
00:24:26	that across the whole state,
00:24:28	and that is something
00:24:28	that Ohio does
00:24:30	still need to work on.
00:24:32	And if we want to make
00:24:32	everything good
00:24:33	for workers
00:24:34	from all four corners
00:24:34	of the state,
00:24:35	whether you're in Appalachia,
00:24:37	whether you're in Dark County,
00:24:39	you know, on the
00:24:39	on the western side,
00:24:41	whether you're
00:24:41	in Steubenville,
00:24:42	what we really
00:24:42	absolutely have to have is
00:24:44	we have to have policies
00:24:46	that, open the door
00:24:46	to all sorts of businesses,
00:24:50	not just big boys
00:24:51	who come in with ribbon
00:24:51	cutting ceremonies,
00:24:53	but the mom and pop shops,
00:24:53	the new innovative company
00:24:56	that's new and may only have 1
00:24:56	or 2 employees but can grow.
00:25:00	Ohio is still
00:25:00	struggling there,
00:25:01	and that's what we really
00:25:01	should be focusing on.
00:25:04	You can hear more
00:25:04	from those interviews
00:25:05	with Hannah Halbert
00:25:05	and Greg Lawson
00:25:07	on our podcast,
00:25:07	The Ohio State House scoop.
00:25:10	Look for it
00:25:10	every Monday morning
00:25:11	wherever
00:25:11	you get your podcasts.
00:25:13	And that is it for this week
00:25:13	for my colleagues
00:25:15	at the Statehouse News
00:25:15	Bureau of Ohio
00:25:16	Public Radio and Television.
00:25:16	Thanks for watching.
00:25:19	Please check out our website
00:25:19	at State News Dawg
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Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions