Policy Matters Ohio

05/31/2026

Want to get Saturday Stats in your inbox? The full, bi-weekly newsletter provides more context, as well as links to the work we are doing on each issue. Subscribe using the link in our bio!

05/30/2026

“Attacks on Medicaid and other public programs often follow a familiar script: amplify a handful of sensational stories, suggest the entire system is corrupt, use the outrage to justify cuts to public services. We’ve seen this playbook before. It’s been used for decades to divide working people from one another while shifting attention away from policies that concentrate wealth and power at the top.”

Worth the read from our friends Maine Center for Economic Policy!

For decades, politicians have used isolated stories about public assistance fraud to divide people and build support for cuts that ultimately hurt working families while benefiting the […]

05/30/2026

“These numbers confirm that lawmakers were working with wildly inaccurate information,” said Zach Schiller, research director at Policy Matters Ohio. “Forecasts weren’t just off — they missed the mark by more than a billion dollars, undermining responsible policymaking and public trust.”

05/23/2026

Get no-cost legal, communications, and organizing guidance during our next Data Center Clinic from Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services attorneys and our partners Buckeye Environmental Network and Ohio River Valley Institute!

Sign up at www.fairshake-els.org/events

05/23/2026

Grateful to and all our panelists and participants for an event that should shape the discussion about data centers and chip manufacturing in Ohio. And grateful to and for this nuanced coverage. Check the link in bio for more data centers coverage and to sign up for updates.

05/22/2026

We’re “Reimagining the Silicon Heartland” today at the Ohio Statehouse with our partners at CHIPS Communities United.

Panel #2: What are the real labor and workforce development opportunities?

Moderator: Bailey Sandin, Work and Wages Researcher, Policy Matters Ohio
Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary Treasurer, Columbus/Central Ohio Building Trades Council
Pat Hook, Business Manager, IBEW Local 683
Rand Wilson, Strategic Advisor, CHIPS Communities United
Anibel Ferus-Comelo, Director, UC Berkley Labor Center

05/22/2026

Reimagining the is in full swing! Our first panel of the day is: What’s the impact on Ohio’s resources? Check out our panelists below ⬇️

🔹Moderator: Molly Bryden, Climate and Sustainability Researcher, Policy Matters Ohio
🔹Madhumita Dutta, Associate Professor of Geography, The Ohio State University
🔹Luke Sulfridge, Executive Director, Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council
🔹Lenny Siegel, Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
🔹Madison Hill, Deputy Director, Columbus Water and Power

05/21/2026

This break is costing Ohio precious revenue at a rapidly sn*******ng rate. Medicaid, SNAP, public schools and childcare programs in Ohio are losing out while some of the biggest companies on the planet, (including Meta, Google, and Amazon), reap millions for building arena-sized data center warehouses in our state.