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2018 was a big election year in Ohio. Republicans held onto all five statewide executive offices including governor and super majorities in both the Ohio House and Senate. But there were a few bright spots for Democrats, among them the reelection of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and the election of two Democrats to the Ohio Supreme Court.With election 2018 over, the focus now shifts to governing. Stay connected with the latest on politics, policies and people making the decisions at all levels affecting your lives.

Trickle Down or Middle Out? Ohio's U.S. Senators Divide On The Tax Package

photo of Sherrod Brown
WKSU

Republican House and Senate negotiators – including Ohio U.S. Sen. Rob Portman – have agreed on a compromise tax package will likely come up for a series of votes next week. Details are scarce but, as WKSU’s M.L. Schultze reports, Ohio’s Democratic U.S. senator continues to lambaste the foundation of the deal.

Sherrod Brown says he and his Republican counterpart, Rob Portman, have worked together on issues ranging from opioids to trade, but the tax package represents a philosophical divide. Portman sees tax cuts for corporations and investors as a way to stimulate the economy for everyone. Brown sees it as the latest incarnation of failed trickle-down economics.

“If you say you’re going to cut taxes on the middle class then pass a bill that cuts taxes on the middle class. That puts money in people’s pockets, they buy things, it creates demand.”

Portman, who has been a deficit hawk, maintains the tax package will boost wages and decrease the federal deficit because it will generate more revenue.   

M.L. Schultze is a freelance journalist. She spent 25 years at The Repository in Canton where she was managing editor for nearly a decade, then served as WKSU's news director and digital editor until her retirement.