DAYTON, Ohio — On Wednesday, Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley announced her plan to help defray increased costs, from gas to groceries, by providing Ohio families with an inflation rebate of $350.
With $350, every Ohioan who is eligible would have money back in their pocket to help account for the increasingly high cost of gas and other everyday goods, Whaley said on Wednesday. This money will become available to incumbent Governor Mike DeWine and the State of Ohio in the next few weeks, and Whaley is urging DeWine to use the money to help offset the pressure from increased costs that Ohioans across the state are experiencing.
When asked by the Guardian on Wednesday where the money would come from, Whaley said the state is set to receive the money anyway, and while the current administration has not publicly stated how they will spend the billions, Whaley said she would put it in the pockets of Ohioans who are struggling.
“Ohioans are hurting right now – whether it’s from high gas prices to increased costs at the grocery store. Governor DeWine should be doing everything in his power to help ease those costs as corporate profits soar, yet we’ve seen time and again he’s more interested in taking care of his special interest donors and friends. When I’m governor, Ohio’s families will be my top priority. That’s why I’m proposing an inflation rebate of $350 per person, or $700 per couple, for middle-class Ohioans to offset high gas prices and other rising costs,” said Whaley.
Ohio is set to receive $2.68 billion in the next round of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan. The rebate would go to roughly 7.4 million Ohioans, the same individuals who received economic impact payments, and which accounts for 89 percent of adults in the state. Individuals making up to $80,000 a year or couples making $160,000 a year or under would be eligible to receive the rebate, at $350 or $700, respectively, Whaley said.
Ohioans are seeing the cost of nearly everything increase – from record-high gas prices to increasing costs for groceries and other necessities like baby formula. As Governor, Nan would fight to make Ohioans’ bills go down and their pay go up, and this inflation rebate is just the latest example of her plan to do just that.
As the former President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Whaley was instrumental in lobbying for state and local funding to be included in the American Rescue Plan.
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