Report: Ohio Taxpayer Return of Investment One of Nation’s Best

Ohio Capitol Money

Despite the likely feeling most Ohioans have about taxes, they could feel better knowing they have one of the nation’s highest returns on their tax dollars, according to a new report.

The personal finance website WalletHub ranked the Buckeye State fifth in the country in terms of taxpayer return on investment after analyzing state and local tax collections with the quality of services residents receive in each state using 29 different metrics.

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Study: Iowa Caucus Not Reliable in Predicting GOP Presidential Nominee

The Iowa caucus is not the most reliable predictor of who will be the Republican nominee, but it fares better for Democrats, according to a study by WalletHub.

Republican voters will be the first in the U.S. to choose their pick for president in the caucuses held at 99 precincts on Monday night. Democrats are caucusing by mail and will reveal the results on March 5, Super Tuesday.

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Report: Scottsdale Is the Top City for Jobs Nationwide

Scottsdale, Arizona, is considered the best city in the U.S. for jobs, according to a new ranking from WalletHub. 

The city received its high ranking because of 12% job growth, according to the personal finance website. Scottsdale ranked first in job market out of the 182 cities listed, and sixth in the socio-economics rank. Wallethub got the numbers by looking at 31 factors to determine the rankings for people looking for jobs.

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Report: Virginia Ranks ‘Best State for Teachers’

Virginia is 2023’s best state for teachers, according to a study conducted by personal finance website WalletHub.

WalletHub ranked states by 24 weighted metrics in two major categories: Opportunity and competition and academic and work environment. Virginia placed first for the former and eleventh for the latter, but opportunity and competition was weighted more than twice as heavily as academic and work environment because “competitive salaries and job security are integral to a well-balanced personal and professional life,” according to the study.

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U.S. Household Debt Rises Sharply

Household debt across the country is sharply on the rise, with U.S. households now collectively on the hook for about $17 trillion in total. The average family holds about $142,680 in debt, according to a new WalletHub report.

All told, the personal finance website concludes that 2022 ended with Americans roughly $320 billion more in total debt than they were at the start of the year. During the fourth quarter alone, consumers added at least $398 million in new debt, the fourth highest build-up for a fourth quarter over the past two decades and more than four times larger than Q4 2021.

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Report: Georgia Has One of the Nation’s Best Improvements in Its Unemployment Rate

Georgia reported one of the best changes in its unemployment rate of any state in the union, a new analysis found.

According to the report from WalletHub, Georgia has the 15th best change in unemployment. That trailed neighboring Florida (No. 6) and Alabama (12) but was better than South Carolina (28), Tennessee (32) and North Carolina (35).

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Ohio Employers Do Better than Most When Finding Employees

Ohio employers are faring much better than colleagues across the country when it comes to hiring employees, according to a new report released by the personal finance website WalletHub.

The report rated states based on the rate of job openings both in the latest month and the last 12 months to determine percentages of job openings. For example, Alaska, the state facing the most struggles, has an 11.9% job opening rate for the latest month and a 9.78% for the last 12 months.

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Minneapolis Ranks as Best City Nationally for People with Disabilities

While Minneapolis tops WalletHub’s ranking for best cities for people with disabilities, St. Paul comes in 14th.

WalletHub released its “2022’s Best & Worst Cities for People with Disabilities” report on Tuesday. In the report, WalletHub assessed physical and economic challenges of managing a disability by analyzing 34 indicators of disability-friendliness in 182 cities that related to three equally weighted categories: economy, “quality of life” and health care. WalletHub selected the 150 most populated U.S. cities and at least two of the most populated cities in each state.

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Pennsylvania Has One of the Lowest Worker Quit Rates in America

Job quit rates have been up since the pandemic, but Pennsylvania lags behind the national average. While that may look like stability and satisfaction with one’s job, it’s a sign of a lack of opportunity for workers in the commonwealth.

An analysis by WalletHub found that Pennsylvania had one of the lowest quit rates in the nation – it ranked 47th. In the last month, Pennsylvania’s resignation rate was 2.1%, with an average rate of 2.24% in the last year.

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Reports: As Inflation Rose in 2021, So Did Americans’ Credit Card Debt

As inflation rose last year to a 40-year high, Americans’ credit card debt also soared, according to analyses published by the personal-finance website WalletHub.

In its Credit Card Debt study, Wallethub found that consumers racked up $87.3 billion in new debt in 2021. During the fourth quarter of 2021, debt increased by $74.1 billion, the largest increase ever reported, Wallethub notes. It was also a 63% larger increase than the post-Great Recession average for a fourth quarter.

By the end of 2021, the average household credit card balance was $8,590. “That’s $2,642 below WalletHub’s projected breaking point,” the report states.

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Ohio Employers Not Struggling as Much to Fill Jobs as Rest of Nation

While filling jobs continues to be a source of struggle for businesses across the nation, Ohio employers seem to be dealing with it better than most, according to a recently released study.

A WalletHub report compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on the rate of job openings for the latest month and the past 12 months.

“Lots of businesses are struggling to hire enough workers, which has sometimes led to delays in services and reduced business hours,” the report read. “In fact, the labor force participation rate has experienced the slowest recovery of any recession since World War II. Some businesses aren’t even able to keep the employees they already have – as Americans are quitting their jobs at record rates in what’s been dubbed the ‘Great Resignation.’ ”

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Study Finds Nashville Crime Rate as One of the Highest in the Country

In a new study conducted by WalletHub, the city of Nashville ranked fourth overall in having the highest crime rates per 1,000 residents among state capitals in the country. According to the study’s findings, Little Rock, Arkansas ranked the highest for crime while Concord, New Hampshire was the lowest. Following Little Rock is Salt Lake City, Utah, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Nashville, and then Charleston, West Virginia.

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Ohio Unemployment Recovery Remains Among Worst in Nation

Ohio’s unemployment recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic improved last week but remains one of the worst in the country, according to a new report.

The state ranked 26th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia last week, comparing data with the same week of 2020, according to a report from WalletHub, a personal finance website. That ranking was significantly better than the state’s position when compared with the beginning of the pandemic.

Ohio ranked 43rd in overall unemployment recovery from the beginning of the pandemic.

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Fauci Email Shows NIH Dr. Claimed DeWine Would Create Demand for Global COVID Response Corps

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Over 3,200 pages of Dr. Anthony Fauci emails contain at least one reference to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. A National Institutes of Health (NIH) doctor – Paul Kilmarx – sent an email in April 2020 stating that DeWine would be part of a group of Republican governors who would be “most interested and helpful” to “encourage implementation and create demand” for a COVID-19 Response Corps.

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Tennessee Public Schools Among Worst In Nation, Report Says

  Tennessee K-12 public schools ranked among the worst in the nation in a study published Monday by WalletHub.com. Tennessee schools ranked 42 overall out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. WalletHub analysts evaluated schools using 21 metrics across two key areas, quality and safety. Tennessee ranked 35 in quality and 49 in safety. For quality, analysts reviewed math and reading test scores, SAT and ACT scores, pupil-teacher ratios, high school graduation rates among low-income students, dropout rates, and other factors. The safety category included a look at disciplinary and bullying rates, as well as the number of high school students reporting they had access to illegal drugs on campus or were threatened or injured with a weapon on campus. Other factors considered in the safety category included the number of high school students reporting they had been involved in a physical fight on campus, or did not attend school because they felt unsafe on campus or going to and from school. The states with the best schools, starting at the top, were Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Vermont. Those at the very bottom, starting with the lowest, were Louisiana, New Mexico, West Virginia, District of…

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