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While politicians continue to behave as though they think our priorities are socio-cultural issues and remaining as divided as possible, ordinary people are trying to survive in a world where the challenges are something more along the lines of "Do I have enough money to fill up the gas tank this week and still get groceries on Friday?"
A recent poll commissioned by Groundwork Ohio and the First Five Years Fund showed childcare remains among the significant challenges for families attempting to keep their heads above water.
"When families are talking about the cost of living, we can't separate childcare from groceries, housing, transportation, utilities, even gas," said Tami Lunan, director of the childcare-focused Caring Economy Organizing Project within the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, according to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal.
According to the poll, 64% of Buckeye State voters saw lowering the cost of living as one of the most important issues facing the state. There is bipartisan agreement on that front. When you can't feed your family, fuel your car, afford childcare so you can go to work or cover any number of other major quality-of-life costs, it's hard to get worked up about issues that very often boil down to government wanting to control every aspect of our lives and make us forget we are much more alike than we are different.
Regarding childcare at least, lawmakers must continue their efforts to make it more affordable and address the worker shortage that exacerbates the problem. Helping families be able to get to work because they know they can afford to keep their children safe and cared for is a big step toward chipping away at some of those other issues, too.
"We actually are responsible for children developing into good citizens, and good stewards of our state, and when we invest in those dollars up front, we know that the impact will be felt years down the line," Lunan told the Capital Journal.
There's too much at stake for those hoping for our votes to ignore. Show us you understand what REALLY matters; and then tell us what you're going to do about it.