State of Ohio Archives: on Welfare & Poverty
Nan Whaley:
Protect tenants, reduce the number of evictions
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, Nan recognized that evictions were a major problem in Dayton. So she brought together a diverse set of stakeholders to create a task force to help keep people in their homes.
This work led to aggressive new laws in the city that will protect tenants and reduce the number of evictions.
Source: 2022 Ohio Governor campaign website NanWhaleyForOhio.com
Apr 6, 2021
Sherrod Brown:
GAIN Act: $111 billion a year for people in poverty
Sherrod Brown and Ro Khanna's GAIN Act is intended to reduce poverty. The GAIN (Grow American Incomes Now) Act ($111 billion a year) is a massive expansion of the EITC, which provides supplemental cash to low-income people
who work. The GAIN Act would double or triple the EITC's benefits, depending on family size, and increase the maximum income for families to receive the credit from the mid-$40,000 range to as high as $75,000.
Source: Vox.com,"5 anti-poverty plans" on 2018 Ohio Senate race
Jan 30, 2019
John Kasich:
Welfare without a path to work doesn't work
On welfare reform: Thanks to the legislature, we've been able to take 16 to 24 year olds. You get welfare; you stand in line; you get your food stamps; they check a box. You go over here; they check a box. We don't like that. Our 16 to 24 year olds,
when they go in we will help them. But once we help them, we want to know what the problem is. We want to know how we solve your problem. We want to get you trained. We want you to get a job.
Welfare without a path to work doesn't work. We want these people to have opportunity, and we want them to go to work.When I'm gone, you've got to expand this thing.
We can't have people just going in and people checking boxes. We have to bring back caseworkers, and we've got to get at the root cause of why people are stuck.
Source: 2017 Ohio State of the State address
Apr 5, 2017
P.G. Sittenfeld:
Wealth inequality is worst since the Gilded Age
Today, income and wealth inequality is worse than at any time since the Gilded Age. Forty years ago, the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company earned just over 30 times more money than the company's average worker. Last year, that CEO was paid over
200 times more. 93% of all the income gains since the end of the recession have gone to the top 1%--and 100% of those gains have gone to the top 5%.Maybe that explains why the richest 400 people in our country are now wealthier than the bottom
150 million people. And why the six heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune own more wealth than the bottom 30% of Americans put together.
In the Senate,
I will fight poverty and wealth inequality with both short-term and long-term solutions. In my opinion, no American who is willing to work full-time in the richest country on earth should be forced to live in poverty.
Source: 2016 Ohio Senate race: Center of Hope Baptist Church speech
Aug 9, 2015
John Kasich:
People who played by the rules suffered; act decisively now
I came here to Wilmington during my campaign in 2010 and I saw the devastation that this town had suffered. It was written on the faces of the people of Wilmington, and these are people who had played by the rules. They didn't do anything wrong.
They worked hard, but one day the rug was pulled from under them. People lost their savings. People lost their homes. A lot of people were losing hope in what their future was going to be. The people at food pantries like Sugartree Ministries--
we were here with my campaign staff, and I said, "Did you see what was happening in that pantry? Did you see the pain, the anguish, on their faces?"
I told them that day, "Our mission is to help fix this community and to restore some hope.
Our mission is to help get people back on their feet in places like Wilmington." Wilmington is in many ways a reflection of Ohio. We are doing better, but we must act decisively now to seize the greater opportunities that await all of us.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature
Feb 24, 2015
John Kasich:
Chaired committee which overhauled the welfare system
An advocate of personal responsibility, John chaired the historic congressional conference committee that overhauled the welfare system. Building on his commitment to limited government,
John also championed defense reform and the elimination of wasteful government spending by effectively building coalitions with members on both sides of the aisle.
Source: 2010 House campaign website, kasichforohio.com, "Biography"
Nov 2, 2010
Steven Driehaus:
Fund faith-based and community-based private organizations
Driehaus indicates he supports the following principles concerning welfare. - Maintain the requirement that able-bodied recipients work in order to receive benefits.
- Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
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Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
Source: 2000 Ohio National Political Awareness Test
Nov 4, 2008
Joyce Beatty:
Expand state services to include the working poor
Beatty indicates support of the following principles regarding welfare.- Maintain the requirement that able-bodied recipients work in order to receive benefits.
- Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
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Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
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Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home.
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Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
Source: Ohio Legislative 2000 National Political Awareness Test
Nov 1, 2000
Lee Fisher:
Fund state social programs for teens; pre-K; at-risk youth
Fisher indicated he supported the following principles concerning social issues:- Increase state funding for programs to prevent teen pregnancy.
- Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase
services from a half to a full day.
- Increase state funding for community centers in areas with at-risk youth.
- Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans and job training and placement.
Source: Ohio Gubernatorial 1998 National Political Awareness Test
Nov 1, 1998
Page last updated: Oct 13, 2021