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Data shows massive and widespread opposition to SB5

These are some truly astonishing numbers released by the We Are Ohio campaign. It details the number of signatures collected in each county, and with a bit of math, the percentage of registered voters that represents. We've sorted the list to show which counties collected the most signatures as a percentage of voters.

Almost a quarter (in some cases more) of all registered voters in 10 or so counties signed the petition - included two of the largest counties in the state - Cuyahoga and Hamilton. We analyzed what turn out might look like in November, and this data can only confirm the worst fears of SB5 supporters - there is massive and widespread opposition to SB5.

County Total signatures Total registered voters Signatures as % registered voters
Lucas 89,610 317,046 28%
Monroe 2,884 10,272 28%
Adams 4,289 18,373 23%
Erie 11,962 53,980 22%
Hamilton 124,879 565,418 22%
Cuyahoga 206,235 978,267 21%
Jackson 4,991 23,283 21%
Mahoning 37,680 181,759 21%
Noble 1,860 8,814 21%
Coshocton 4,277 21,234 20%
Meigs 3,201 16,042 20%
Vinton 1,792 9,056 20%
Franklin 157,489 811,831 19%
Trumbull 27,846 149,685 19%
Athens 8,984 49,440 18%
Hocking 3,351 18,634 18%
Belmont 8,102 47,834 17%
Gallia 3,395 21,535 16%
Guernsey 4,059 25,810 16%
Lake 25,323 157,732 16%
Lorain 32,996 206,660 16%
Madison 3,857 24,792 16%
Pickaway 5,397 32,751 16%
Ross 7,126 45,332 16%
Scioto 7,534 47,167 16%
Summit 60,002 371,028 16%
Medina 19,260 125,684 15%
Ottawa 4,682 30,395 15%
Pike 2,814 19,120 15%
Sandusky 5,740 39,531 15%
Stark 40,772 267,350 15%
Tuscarawas 9,159 59,920 15%
Ashtabula 9,246 65,801 14%
Crawford 3,988 29,170 14%
Defiance 3,731 26,347 14%
Delaware 17,070 119,690 14%
Fayette 2,268 16,312 14%
Jefferson 7,256 51,116 14%
Seneca 5,328 37,148 14%
Wayne 10,613 75,097 14%
Fairfield 13,813 102,716 13%
Licking 14,708 113,245 13%
Marion 5,485 41,017 13%
Perry 3,186 23,712 13%
Portage 14,393 110,446 13%
Wood 13,045 103,312 13%
Clark 10,883 92,438 12%
Columbiana 8,482 71,043 12%
Lawrence 5,514 47,438 12%
Morgan 1,067 9,240 12%
Muskingum 6,296 54,477 12%
Richland 10,274 87,138 12%
Allen 7,865 69,931 11%
Butler 27,648 240,541 11%
Clermont 14,128 132,696 11%
Fulton 3,496 30,562 11%
Geauga 7,014 65,507 11%
Harrison 1,251 11,266 11%
Henry 2,341 20,582 11%
Huron 3,926 36,993 11%
Knox 4,395 40,304 11%
Montgomery 44,016 385,652 11%
Warren 15,457 135,490 11%
Washington 4,663 42,740 11%
Ashland 3,653 35,768 10%
Brown 3,012 29,579 10%
Carroll 2,040 19,838 10%
Hardin 1,884 18,224 10%
Morrow 2,500 25,986 10%
Paulding 1,361 13,407 10%
Putnam 2,110 24,328 9%
Williams 2,391 25,542 9%
Wyandot 1,334 15,567 9%
Champaign 2,081 26,707 8%
Greene 9,891 116,552 8%
Hancock 4,115 54,834 8%
Miami 5,896 71,894 8%
Preble 2,405 28,323 8%
Union 2,683 34,147 8%
Van Wert 1,729 20,406 8%
Auglaize 2,326 32,800 7%
Clinton 1,783 26,722 7%
Shelby 2,294 31,973 7%
Highland 1,725 27,608 6%
Logan 1,760 30,865 6%
Mercer 1,817 28,609 6%
Holmes 802 17,807 5%
Darke 1,579 35,378 4%
Total 1,297,565 8,037,806 16.1%

Gutting education for a cup of cheap coffee

It has been repeated often by the Governor and Republican legislators that raising income taxes is not a solution to the budget problem Ohio faces, but instead, draconian cuts to education are the way forward. Consequently we face almost $3.1 billion in education cuts over the next 2 years as a result of this policy preference.

But how much of an impact do the 2005 income tax cuts have on take home pay? We thought it would be interesting to look at this question from a teachers perspective.

According to Ohio's Legislative Services Commision (LSC), the average teacher earned $54,656 in 2009, and about $47,500 in 2004, the year before the income tax cuts were phased in.

Ohio average teacher salaries

The Ohio Department of taxation has produced this handy guide to tax rates for each year since 2004. Let's see how much tax a teacher making average salaries in 2004 and 2009 would have paid to the state.

Comparing tax bills for average salaried teachers

Average Teacher in 2004 Average Teacher in 2009
Average Salary $47,500 $54,656
Tax Forumla $1,337.20 + 5.201% of excess over $40,000 $1,112.50 + 4.327% of excess over $40,000
Taxes Paid $1,727.28 $1,746.67

The difference between 2009 and 2004 being $19.39 per year, a nickel a day MORE today.

Republicans would have us believe that for a nickel a day MORE in tax, we have to gut public education, or Ohio would be too uncompetitive to survive. Draw your own conclusions. Perform your own calculations using your own salary and the tax tables to see your "savings".

For those wondering, or thinking it fairer, what tax would be paid on $54,656 if the tax code had not changed

2004 Tax Rates 2009 Tax Rates
Tax Forumla $1,337.20 + 5.201% of excess over $40,000 $1,112.50 + 4.327% of excess over $40,000
Taxes Paid $2099.46 $1,746.67

Which equates to about a buck a day savings ($352.79 per year). A cup of cheap coffee a day.