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After Years of One-sided State Cuts and Restrictions, Major
Ohio Cities Face Steep Population Declines
After almost a decade of one-party rule, a slight rebound
from the global recession, and at least $2 billion in state
budget cuts to local Ohio communities,
a new
analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data
from 2010 to 2017 shows Youngstown (No. 19), Toledo (No. 12)
and Cleveland (No. 5) are leading the nation in population
decline.
“This staggering population loss in key urban economic
engines of our state is an indictment of Republican policies
of the last decade,” said state Rep. John Boccieri
(D-Poland). “You can push the responsibility of raising
revenue to the lowest layers of government while sending
more and more to state government. As elected officials, we
have a duty to work together to get things done – regardless
of who is in charge. But it seems clear there are political
motivations behind the Republican policies that have
crippled Democratic communities.”
Citing reports* from the Brookings Institution and Greater
Ohio The Youngstown-area lawmaker says policies based on
facts have been largely been shelved in the Ohio General
Assembly to make way for state policies that show local,
political favoritism.
“Ohio's metro areas constitute a majority of the population,
but that hasn’t stopped the state legislature from favoring
crippling policies that will leave Ohio behind for
generations,” added Boccieri. “After years of these
policies, the governor sits on two-and-a-half billion
dollars in the Rainy Day Fund and billions in school
facilities construction dollars. Taxpayers deserve a refund
– give us our money back.”
The reports also show state policies have incentivized
creating new communities over reinvesting in older urban
centers, and the that misplaced state investments have
prevented cities from leveraging their assets.
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