This election season the Dayton Daily News is examining the platforms of the governor candidates so voters are better informed when they go to the polls. Today’s focus — jobs and the economy — comes just nine days before Election Day.
RELATED: Watch: DeWine, Cordray trade fiery jabs in first debate in Dayton
With Republican Gov. John Kasich leaving office after eight years, voters can choose between four candidates for governor: Democrat Richard Cordray, Republican Mike DeWine, Libertarian Travis Irvine and Green Party candidate Constance Gadell-Newton.
Cordray and DeWine have hammered each other in campaign ads and during their three debates, but also have areas of broad agreement, particularly on workforce development. Both advocate helping small businesses in a variety of ways and want to improve collaboration between government, educators and business.
RELATED:Major disconnect: Jobs unfilled despite thousands of unemployed
Labor expert Edward W. Hill, professor of public affairs at Ohio State University, said both candidates are attuned to making workforce training responsive to the local market.
“I am pleased particularly with the way that Cordray is recognizing the infrastructure problem, and I’m seeing with DeWine’s proposals kind of an emphasis on looking to firms that are already here, recognizing that that is where the bulk of the job growth is coming from,” Hill said.
Workforce development and education are key to all the candidates’ plans, along with taxes, regulation, wages and funding for public infrastructure.
RELATED: Ohio Chamber of Commerce calls for BOLD innovation in the state
The candidates generally do not specify how they would pay for their plans beyond using existing resources, although Cordray’s infrastructure improvement program would ask voters to approve a bond issue. Gadell-Newton would increase business taxes to fund her initiatives.
RELATED: Third-party candidates for Ohio governor have wide differences
"Our administration will train more people with the skills they need; ignite innovation, research, and investment in Ohio; and eliminate burdensome regulations to allow our businesses to flourish," DeWine said in answers for the Dayton Daily News online Voter Guide.
Dealing with the addiction crisis is critical to improving the economy, DeWine says.
“The drug epidemic is “ripping apart families and communities, and it’s creating a drag on the economy because there are too many people who can’t work because they can’t pass a drug test,” DeWine said. “We also need to be laser-focused on our workforce to make sure we are matching people with the skills they need to get a good job.”
RELATED:What Ohio's governor candidates plan to do about the opioid crisis
Cordray said workforce development is the state’s “most pressing economic challenge” and he proposes targeting $50 million in federal workforce development money to train people for the state’s fastest growing industries, including health care, education, construction, advanced manufacturing and computer systems, according to his Voter Guide answers.
Cordray said in an email that he is committed to “ensuring that the economic growth Ohio has seen in recent years is more broadly shared, so that no person or community is left out or left behind.”
“We’ll expand access to workforce development and jobs training programs, so that more Ohioans have a pathway to the middle class — regardless of whether they have a college degree,” Cordray said. “And we’ll invest in our infrastructure and support our homegrown small businesses to create more economic opportunity around Ohio.”
Education
All four candidates support improving access to early childhood education and boosting vocational training for youth as key building blocks of workforce development.
For education beyond high school, DeWine and Cordray talk about finding ways to make college more affordable, including boosting the Ohio College Opportunity Grant for low-income students, and relying more on community colleges.
RELATED: Ohio’s $10 billion investment: Where do governor candidates stand on education?
Both of their plans for closing the skills gap revolve around getting more people trained beyond high school, but not necessarily by obtaining a four-year degree. They support apprenticeships and internships as well as programs to get workers more certificates and other non-degree credentials accepted by industries.
The OhioMeansJobs website lists 148,324 available jobs in the state, including 79,100 that pay more than $50,000. But employers complain they can’t find workers with the skills they need, even for jobs that pay well.
RELATED: Jobs expert: ‘This is going to be an epidemic’
DeWine says he would fund 10,000 certificates — at an estimated cost of about $600 each — for in-demand jobs and require recipients to work in Ohio for a period of time. His proposed Student Work Experience Tax Incentive would give a tax break to businesses that provide students with work experiences.
He also says he will push for a decrease in government regulations, including occupational licensing rules that he says create too many barriers to entering the workforce.
Cordray supports an “Ohio Peace Corps” for communities to hire high school and college graduates to do community development work.
He also wants a full audit of all development programs using public funds.
“For years, Ohio’s workforce development efforts have emphasized employers over employees,” Cordray said in his Voter Guide answers. “We will reverse those priorities. Instead of offering tax incentive packages to out-of-state companies, we will develop a workforce equipped with the skills that employers need to grow their businesses.”
RELATED: Training programs seek to bridge skills gap in Dayton region
Funding
A major source of the state’s workforce development funding is the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program, which brought $110 million to the state during this fiscal year to train dislocated workers who lost their jobs, as well as low-income adults and youth.
DeWine wants the money sent to the state in a block grant, arguing that would give more local flexibility in targeting the spending, including using the funds to train people who already have jobs.
“We will continue to pressure the federal government to remove strings attached to federal job training dollars and block grant those funds to Ohio so the state can work with regional partners and make decisions that actually benefit communities,” DeWine said in the Voter Guide.
Cordray’s proposal is different. He wants to direct nearly $50 million to specific priorities, such as training programs in health care and other fast-growing industries.
RELATED: These jobs are expected to see the highest demand in Ohio through 2024
“A quarter of all new jobs that Ohio is projected to add before 2024, for example, are in health care,” he wrote in his Voter Guide answers. “Ohio’s federal dollars will support programs preparing workers to enter careers in health care, education, construction, advanced manufacturing and computer systems.”
Greg R. Lawson, research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, views government-run training programs as “largely ineffective” and said the focus should instead be on attracting businesses and growing the economy.
Lawson argues that government is not good at forecasting what jobs of the future will be growing.
“Each of the industries highlighted by Mr. Cordray are considered “fast-growing” today, but it is impossible to know if that will continue,” Lawson said. “It could easily prove to be a waste of resources if one of those industries becomes a laggard in the next few years.”
RELATED: What skills are being sought by Dayton businesses
DeWine’s block grant proposal also has critics. Hannah Halbert, researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal-leaning think tank, said local workforce development boards are made up of a large number of business and workforce development representatives who already have wide latitude in spending decisions.
The real problem, according to Halbert, is that federal workforce funding has been cut “while employer and worker needs in the labor market have been growing more complex. Block grants are not likely to address this very real need, rather it’s more likely to result in greater cuts in the future.”
Ryan Burgess, director of Kasich’s Office of Workforce Transformation, said the state’s regional offices do collaborate on determining where the funds are most needed, but adds there is room for improvement.
“There are communities that are doing things very very well,” he said. “It’s just not happening consistently.”
Taxes
DeWine opposes raising taxes, saying they need to be low and predictable. One of his tax plans calls for using tax law to encourage businesses in economically distressed areas.
RELATED: What do you want next Ohio governor to do about economy, jobs?
Irvine wants to eliminate the state income tax entirely, which currently brings in more than a third of state tax revenues.
“It’s hard to imagine that this would attract a large number of people or businesses,” responded Christopher Devine, assistant professor of political science at the University of Dayton. “The question is whether Ohio would be able to collect a comparable level of tax revenue from other sources, such as an increased sales tax, in order to compensate for the loss of state income tax revenue.”
Cordray also opposes tax increases. But he would ask voters to approve a bond issue in the range of $500 million to nearly $1.9 billion to pay for improvements to roads, bridges and other infrastructure that he sees as essential to the state’s economic development efforts.
“It’s right out of the (former Ohio Governor) Jim Rhodes playbook,” OSU’s Hill said. “And we need it…But I still think we should increase the gas tax. It’s a user fee. It works. Infrastructure’s taken a hit and I do worry about bridges.”
DeWine’s plan calls for expanding broadband infrastructure by partnering with business to find ways to pay for it.
Wages
Cordray and Gadell-Newton both want the state to raise the minimum wage.
Irvine opposes an increase and DeWine says he supports Ohio’s existing law, approved by voters in 2006, which ties minimum wage increases to inflation.
Mark Caleb Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University, said increasing the state minimum wage could have negative consequences.
“Increasing the minimum wage will have the short-term positive impact on people at the lower end of the wage scale,” Smith said. “(But) businesses will pass additional labor costs onto consumers. They will have more incentives to automate jobs. Higher minimum wages also reduce the number of entry level jobs in the market, and that is especially bad for young people and those with lower levels of education.”
RELATED: How do we get the economy to boom for all?
But Lee Hannah, assistant professor of political science at Wright State University, said that while the impact of a minimum wage increase can be complex the issue of wage stagnation is real and is perhaps driving the problem companies say they have finding workers.
“Ohio’s unemployment is low right now, but there’s little evidence of wage growth. And Ohio lags behind the majority of states when it comes to median income and growth,” Hannah said. “I wonder if Ohio is losing quality workers to other states.”
Jobs by the numbers
Ohio
5.5 million employed
265,700 unemployed
4.6 percent unemployment rate
Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area
371,000 employed
15,400 unemployed
4 percent unemployment
Source: Ohio Labor Market Review
| How they compare | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine agree on some economic proposals, such as not raising taxes and raising the eligibility for early childhood education programs from 130 percent to 150 percent of the federal poverty level. On other issues they are far apart. Here's where the four candidates for Ohio governor stand on are the four candidates' positions on jobs and the economy. | |||
| Richard Cordray, Democratic Party | Mike DeWine, Republican Party | Constance Gadell-Newton, Green Party | Travis M. Irvine, Libertarian Party |
| Offer tax incentives to train people in workforce skills existing employers need to grow. | Establish opportunity zones to encourage business growth in economically-distressed communities. | Transition to a 100% green economy, putting solar panels in all homes, highly insulating all buildings and promoting geothermal energy for heating and cooling. | Reduce regulations to "unleash the power" of gambling, alcohol, marijuana, vape store and food truck businesses. |
| Invest nearly $50 million in federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding to train workers for fast-growing industries like health care and advanced manufacturing. | Remove "strings" on federal WIOA money and convert funding to block grants to add local flexibility. | Strengthen employment laws for non-union workers. | Add incentives to attract new companies, such as filmmakers, to Ohio. |
| Offer more vocational training, apprenticeships, certificates and flexible skills training through Lifelong Learning and Training Accounts, which are typically funded through contributions from individuals, employers and sometimes government. | Provide funding for 10,000 in-demand industry certificates and encourage more vocational training and apprenticeships for adults and youth. | Invest in safe public gathering spaces, commons-based business incubators, and walkable neighborhoods and business districts. | Make Jobs Ohio transparent or abolish it. |
| Establish Ohio Peace Corps for communities to hire recent high school and college graduates to do community development work. | Create Student Work Experience Tax Incentives for businesses that provide students with work opportunities. | Provide free public pre-school statewide; return vocational school and home economics classes to high schools. | Cut spending from inefficient areas of state education to spend more on early childhood education; add vocational training in high school. |
| Raise minimum wage and protect workers from legislation that reduces wage and overtime protections. | Do not raise minimum wage beyond current state law that has inflation-indexed annual increases. | Increase minimum wage to $15 per hour plus annual increases for inflation and cost of living. | Do not increase minimum wage. |
| Make infrastructure improvements using a bond issue that voters would be asked to approve. | Work with private sector to expand broadband infrastructure. | Establish universal health care and mandate paid maternity and paternity leave. | Eliminate policies favoring large businesses over small businesses. |
| Boost funding for public transit. | Eliminate burdensome regulations, including any that negatively impact job creation, except those needed for health and safety. | Fund development of municipal broadband. | Repeal all laws restricting new technological advancement in favor of incumbent special interests. |
| Reduce the number of occupations permitted to have non-compete clauses. | Reform occupational licensing to remove barriers to employment. | Invest in public transit. | Reduce occupational licensing. |
| Encourage more clean energy jobs. | Allow research done at Ohio universities to remain the intellectual property of the researcher, not the institution. | End corporate welfare tax policies. | Hold colleges accountable for controlling costs. |
| No tax increases. | No tax increases. | Provide a Universal Basic Income for people, a concept that guarantees a wage for all, usually funded by the government. | Reduce taxes on businesses, reduce property taxes and eliminate the state income tax. |
| Increase consumer protection for college borrowers. | Provide tuition guarantees to protect students from increases during their time in college. | Institute tuition-free public universities and debt relief for students. | Align community college training with what businesses need. |
| Help small businesses access financing and assist with regulations and licensing. | Develop a match-making application to connect people seeking jobs with companies that are hiring. | Establish public banks to serve depositors and small businesses; strengthen labor unions. | Encourage entrepreneurship and grow startup, homegrown Ohio businesses by reducing red tape. |
| Source: Each candidate's web site and their answers in the Dayton Daily News Voter Guide |
Path Forward: Jobs and the Economy
- » Jobs expert: ‘This is going to be an epidemic’
- » What skills are being sought by Dayton businesses
- » Training programs seek to bridge skills gap
- » Tips for landing your dream job
- » These jobs are expected to see the highest demand in Ohio through 2024
- » SEE: Students young and mid-career adapting to workforce needs
- » Five resources to find a job or get training
- » Extreme BattleBots teach kids STEM skills
- » Ohio Chamber of Commerce calls for BOLD innovation in the state
- » Expert offers 7 great tips for finding a job
GET READY FOR ELECTION DAY
Voters guide online: Compare the other candidates on your ballot using our interactive voters guide on our website
Newsletter: Sign up for our daily Ohio Politics newsletter for the latest on Election 2018 and the news of the day
Twitter: Stay up to date with the latest from the campaign trail on @Ohio_Politics
Facebook: Speak out on the issues and candidates on our Ohio Politics Facebook page
‘Don’t force me to release the rest of the text messages,’ local candidate tells lawmaker
Elderly Targeted More In Scams
Millions of Americans feel sting of identity theft
Neighborhoods where 5 women found plagued by blight, vacant homes
About the Author
