50 progressive ideas to attract people to Ohio without spending $50 million: Brigid Kelly and Kent Smith
Read the full column on Cleveland.com.
On Monday, Feb. 1, while announcing his two-year budget proposal, Gov. Mike DeWine voiced his support for a $50 million expenditure to attract East and West Coast residents to move to Ohio.
In explaining his reasoning DeWine said, “Ohio is a welcoming place. I don’t care who you are, we want you to come to Ohio. It’s a progressive state.”
The governor is half right. He is correct that Ohio’s population growth is far below the national average. Between 1990 and 2010, the U.S. population grew 24% while the Buckeye State only grew 6%, according to a May 2016 report on progressive governance by the University of Southern California’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity.
Where we have disagreement with the governor is how to fix the problem. We do not need an advertising campaign to deceive people. We need a legislative attraction agenda so that people and families want to stay here or move here.
That 2016 report defined “progressive governance” as “the ability to implement and sustain long-term change that can further social justice.” The report goes on to state that “progressive” refers to a commitment to equity and justice and is rooted in the values of economic inclusion and democratic participation.
To that end, we offer Gov. DeWine 50 progressive legislative ideas (in no particular order) to make the state more open and welcoming and which will save Ohio taxpayers a $50 million advertising bill.
1) Make college affordable
2) Fix public school funding
3) Unleash the clean energy sector
4) Let women make their own health care decisions
5) Draw fair legislative districts
6) Rebuild Ohio roads, bridges, and water systems
7) Triple the support for Ohio food banks
8) End state takeovers of public-school districts
9) Invest more in Ohio libraries
10) Universal Pre-K education
11) Provide additional COVID support & relief
12) Stop purging legal voters
13) Deploy broadband across Ohio
14) Enact reasonable gun safety measures
15) Grow Ohio’s creative arts economy
16) Terminate private prisons
17) Give teachers a raise
18) Provide legal protections for LGBTQ Ohioans
19) Protect Lake Erie and Ohio waterways
20) Make ending homelessness a priority
21) Pass campaign finance reforms
22) Expand Medicaid coverage
23) Raise the minimum wage
24) Restore local government funding
25) Enlarge the earned income tax credit
26) Remove the LLC loophole
27) Protect tenant rental rights
28) Increase down payment help so families can achieve home ownership
29) Mandate racial bias training for safety forces
30) Reclaim blighted properties for public green space
31) Make Election Day a holiday
32) Ensure equal pay for equal work
33) Boost the electric vehicle industry
34) Support diversity and embrace immigrants
35) Protect Ohio workers
36) Reform the bail system
37) Multiply public art programs
38) Grow clean fuel public transportation
39) Feed every hungry Ohio child
40) Stop childhood lead poisoning
41) Create more transparency for public pensions
42) Keep mothers and babies healthy and well
43) Guarantee Ohioans access to their pay stubs
44) Declare racism a public health crisis
45) Restore energy efficiency programs
46) Permit virtual governance during the pandemic
47) Increase early voting locations
48) Decriminalize marijuana
49) Strengthen collective bargaining rights
50) Institute paid family leave
In Ohio, there should be more opportunity for a better life. We can keep people here by putting families first and ensuring that Ohioans can live, work, and retire with dignity. We can build a better future by truly being a progressive state focused on the future instead of stuck in the past.