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Ohio lawmakers looking to get the lead out

Editorials

“Everybody wants lead lines to be replaced, especially the mayors in our cities, but it’s a lot of money,” Sarah Biehl, policy director at Ohio Mayors Alliance, told the Ohio Capital Journal last week. Her comment came as state lawmakers take a look at House Bill 307, to “Enact the Lead Line Replacement Act.” Sponsored by state Reps. Dontavius Jarrels, D-Columbus, and Monica Robb Blasdel, R-New Waterford, the measure would mandate state replacement of all lead service lines. It’s an important project. According to the Capital Journal, there are 745,000 lead service lines ...

How to think about affordability

Editorials

“Affordability” is the word grabbing the headlines in public discourse these days. However, if affordability is a problem, it’s important to be clear about what exactly the problem is and what can be done. Gallup has new polling data noting that the “high cost of living continues to top Americans’ list of the most important financial problems facing their families.” Per Gallup’s new data, 31% say “high cost of living/inflation” is the most important problem,” 13% say energy costs/oil and gas prices, 13% say “cost of owning or renting a home” and 8% say ...

Trump, cult of MAGA take sudden anti-Christian turn

Editorials

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 ...

Reading between the lines on Ohio employment stats

Editorials

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, ...

Southern Poverty indictment smacks of a political ploy

Editorials

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 ...

Corporate welfare for hospitals raising costs of health care

Editorials

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 ...