I recently attended a meeting of workenomics and heard a startling statistic. In 2010, Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services pumped $231 million into the economy of Licking County.
$231 million.
Around $140 million went to food stamps and programs for the aged, blind and disabled. The remaining amount went to medicaid.
1 out of every 6 people in Licking County were "touched" by ODJFS.
There are certainly different ways of looking at this. On the surface, it would seem a bit disappointing that so many people needed help in our community. But given the economy, that's probably not too surprising.
From a more positive view, the increase usage of those programs did increase employment for those in nursing homes and grocery stores.
No matter what viewpoint you may have on this, $231 million had a strong impact on Licking County in 2010.
1 comment:
If it pumped $231 million in it sucked more than that out of somewhere else. That somewhere would include Licking County residents and employers pockets.
It's a negative sum no matter how you look at it. A positive way to look at it would be that we no the numbers and they need to change. When 1 out of 6 is in the recipient class, that's a big problem.
If you wanted to put a positive on it, you could say that we paid for all of the administrative workers and IT staff to get the money doled out too right? The problem is that those personnel resources are also sucked out of the workforce where they could be producing profitable goods and services.
I realize that the aged, blind, and disabled need assistance, but are 1 in 6 residents handicapped? If they are, it's going to be a tough sell that we have a vibrant work force.
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