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Reading between the lines on Ohio employment stats

February job loss numbers tell a complex tale in Ohio, as despite the loss of 5,400 jobs, the unemployment rate actually went down. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, that is because 2,000 Buckeye State residents simply left the workforce. On top of that, Molly Bryden, a Policy Matters Ohio researcher, said the state’s economy is also more vulnerable to economic turbulence because of federal policy decisions; and is STILL dealing with the changes in the employment landscape wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuts to federal and state government services (and, ...

Trump, cult of MAGA take sudden anti-Christian turn

The past few days have featured the vice president of the United States lecturing the pope on morality and church doctrine; Sean Hannity making it official that he worships at the Church of Trump; Pete Hegseth quoting made-up verses from “Pulp Fiction” as if they were actual Scripture; and Trump styling himself as Jesus Christ. A few years ago, one might have wondered how these acts of contempt toward Christianity would go down with the religious right, but after 10 years of cultishness, it would be foolish to expect many defections. Still, as someone who came up in the ...

Corporate welfare for hospitals raising costs of health care

Hospitals are not as unpopular as other health care sectors, such as drug manufacturers and insurance companies. But like other businesses, they are prone to rent-seeking and fiercely defensive of special breaks. Case in point: The 340B drug discount program. The federal program was created in 1992 to help hospitals and clinics in poor communities. In recent weeks, it has become the target of new lawsuits over complaints that wealthy health systems are abusing the benefits and driving up costs for everyone else. The program requires pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs at a ...

Southern Poverty indictment smacks of a political ploy

When it comes to the U.S. Justice Department’s stunning announcement of criminal charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center, as an old saying goes, where you stand depends on where you sit. If you sit with the broad section of Americans who revere the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and who look with distaste on the resurgence of white nationalism in American politics, it may come as no surprise that President Donald Trump’s DOJ is going after an organization with a long history of standing up to organized racism. If you sit with the Trump administration’s Justice ...

Let logic settle Poland library controversy

The effort to “save” the Poland Library is well-intentioned and even noble. It is also, at this point, misguided and bordering on unhealthy. The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County has spent the better part of a year — if not longer — studying, documenting, analyzing and contracting with reputable professional consultants about every aspect of the building. On April 9, the Library’s Building and Sites Committee heard everything library staff had learned through their efforts. They learned about the problems with the 25-year-old building, what it would cost to ...

No confidence: Hegseth sacks all the competents on board

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fired Secretary of the Navy John Phelan. This comes after Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff General Randy George. Hegseth keeps firing senior leaders, often arguing the fired were “woke,” but the common thread seems to be that they had good relationships with the president and were competent. When I was in college, I would go back to Louisiana in the summer to work for the public school from which I had graduated. The school was in a building that combined K-12, but elementary, middle and high schools were separate entities until after I ...