For twelve consecutive years, Republicans controlled every single statewide office.  During that period, Ohio experienced tough economic hardships as manufacturing jobs declined, taxes increased, and home foreclosure rates skyrocketed.

Democratic elected officials are standing up for working families and are turning around Ohio’s economy.  Governor Ted Strickland has worked to provide tax relief for seniors and disabled citizens, attract large companies to invest and create new jobs, and passed a fiscally responsible budget with near unanimous support.  State Treasurer Richard Cordray’s programs help small businesses grow, invest in long-term financial security strategies, and educate citizens on financial literacy.

GOP RECORD
 

Job Losses and Poverty Growth

• Over 200,000 Manufacturing Jobs Lost During GOP Control.  During the twelve year GOP lock on statewide offices, Ohio lost 226,700 manufacturing jobs and had the 48^th lowest rate of job growth among the 50 states.  The state ranked 46^th in per-capita income growth and 47^th in population growth.  A greater percentage of Ohio residents are now living in poverty than in 1995. [Columbus Dispatch, 12/31/06]

Republicans Passed Largest Tax Increase in State History

• $2.9 Billion Tax Increase Largest in Ohio History.  In 2003, Governor Taft passed the largest tax increase in Ohio’s 200-year history.  It was the first tax increase on sales and services in over twenty years, and cost taxpayers an estimated $2.9 billion over two years. [HB 95, 6/19/03; Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6/27/03; USA Today, 2/9/04]

Over One Million Working Ohioans Uninsured

• Working Ohioans Have No Health Insurance.  In 2006, an estimated 1.3 million adults and children living in Ohio had no health coverage.  A staggering four out of five of the 1.3 million were members of working families. [Ohio Hospital Association, http://www.ohanet.org/media/fact_sheets/uninsured.pdf, 8/30/06; Children’s Defense Fund]

WHAT WE’VE ACCOMPLISHED

GOVERNOR TED STRICKLAND

Fiscally Responsible Budget to Provide Tax Relief

• Tax Relief for One in Four Ohio Homeowners.  Governor Strickland and the Ohio legislature passed a budget that would expand the Homestead Tax Exemption for Ohio’s senior citizens and disabled homeowners, giving a tax cut to approximately one in four Ohio homeowners.  To read more about the state’s biennial budget, please click here.
  

TREASURER RICHARD CORDRAY 

Investing in Long-Term Financial Security Programs

• Helping Ohioans Save Money.  Treasurer Cordray is committed to helping Ohioans save money during these tough financial times and provide an incentive for long-term financial stability.  He has introduced “Save NOW,” a program designed to help individuals earn above-market interest rates on savings accounts and to foster the habit of saving money.  Save NOW would be the first of its kind in the nation and be similar to a linked-deposit program for small businesses that has been used in the state for nearly 25 years.  The state would invest $25 million in banks statewide who agree to provide savers an additional three percent interest incentive.  In return, the savers would agree to complete ongoing financial education.

Assisting Ohioans Affected by Natural Disasters

• Reduced Interest Rates To Help Homeowners, Small Businesses.  Treasurer Cordray created Renew Ohio, a program to assist homeowners, small businesses, and farmers in declared emergency counties with a three percent reduction on bank loans to help rebuild after flooding and wind damage.  The initiative, which is tied with the state linked deposit program, made more $28 million available to those affected.

Giving Small Businesses a Helping Hand

• Resurrected Economic Development Program to Help Small Businesses.   Treasurer Cordray resurrected the state treasury’s previously defunct economic development program.  In the past year, the size of the program more than doubled in size.  463 small businesses received assistance totaling more than $77 million.  The maximum for a small business loan rate reduction was increased from $250,000 to $400,000.  Jobs to dollar ratio increased from $25,000 to $50,000 to reflect the importance of paying fair wages for good jobs.  For the first time ever, preference is given to veterans applying for loan rate reduction through the small business or agricultural program.

Securing Funds for Property Tax Relief

• Largest Tobacco Securitization to Build Schools and Provide Tax Relief.  Treasurer Cordray helped conduct the successful completion of the largest single tobacco securitization.  More than $5 billion was generated to provide seniors and disabled citizens’ property tax relief on their homes and to build 250 new schools for 438,359 students.

Expanding Financial Education Outreach

• Interactive Online Tools and Resources for Financial Education.  Treasurer Cordray launched Your Money NOW, an interactive financial education tool that presents a real-time network of resources for educators, activists, consumers and children.  The first of its kind in the country, Your Money NOW has received national attention for educating Ohioans about controlling their financial well-being and avoiding the pitfalls of financial products. 

• Training High School Educators on Financial Security.  Treasurer Cordray created the Teachers Academy, a statewide training initiative that provides training and curriculum resources for educators who teach financial literacy to high school students.  Under Ohio’s new Core Curriculum requirement, school districts must offer personal finance education as part of their high school curricula beginning in 2010.  A nationwide survey sponsored by the  Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy found that high school seniors are failing when it comes to financial literacy. Only 52.4 percent of questions about personal finance and economics were answered by students correctly.

Streamlining Treasury to Save Ohio Money

• Streamlining Treasury to Make More Funds Available for Ohioans.  Treasurer Cordray has actively looked for savings and efficiencies within his own office to make more available to the state budget.  Cordray tracked down $190,000 owed to the Treasury from unclaimed funds.  He initiated a detailed review of the state’s 168 bank accounts and recovered $1.2 million in service fees and earnings credits which had not been paid to the state for several years.  The Treasurer’s Office also eliminated unnecessary service contracts and performed in-house work that had been farmed out in the past, saving more than $1.2 million during Cordray’s first year in office.