COLUMBUS, Ohio – Five years into the economic recovery, a new report finds nearly half of Ohio families still are treading financial water.
According to the Assets and Opportunity Scorecard from the Corporation of Enterprise Development, an advocacy group for low- and moderate-income families, more than 44 percent of Ohioans are “liquid asset poor,” meaning they have little or no savings to cover emergencies.
While Ohio ranked high for some of the measures taken to decrease poverty, advocacy groups say more needs to be done in the light of a sluggish, uneven recovery.
“We have some of the lowest unemployment benefits in the country and we don’t offer paid family leave in our state. We’ve been hit harder than many other states in foreclosure,” Kalitha Williams, of Policy Matters Ohio, said.
The report found four out of five of the lowest-income households are liquid asset poor, as well as two out of every three households of color.
Overall, Ohio ranked 36th for financial security, and 17th for policies adopted to help struggling families.
Williams says Ohio took a positive step in 2013 by enacting a state Earned Income Tax Credit, but she says many restrictions need to be lifted in order for it to help low-earning, working families.