BEFORE WE BELIEVE ANOTHER PROMISE, LET'S EXAMINE WHAT ALREADY FAILED.

Amy Acton vs. Vivek Ramaswamy

For decades, Ohio politicians have promised better schools, lower taxes, stronger communities, more jobs and greater economic opportunity.

Yet significant disparities between Black and white Ohioans remain.

So before we examine what either candidate promises to do, we need to ask a more important question:

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN OHIO TRIED SIMILAR POLICIES BEFORE?

1. TAX CUTS: WHO ACTUALLY BENEFITED?

Since 2005, Ohio has implemented major income-tax reductions and business tax preferences.

According to a 2024 analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy:

- The wealthiest 1% of Ohio households received an average annual tax reduction exceeding $52,000 compared with pre-2005 policy.

- The lowest-income households experienced an estimated average annual tax increase of approximately $80.

- An estimated 71% of personal income-tax reduction benefits went to the highest-income 20% of households.

These are modeled estimates, not individual tax records.

RAMASWAMY: Proposes broader tax reductions, including eliminating Ohio's income tax.

ACTON: Proposes targeted tax relief and credits for working families.

THE QUESTION: Will either approach increase Black household wealth, or will the largest financial benefits once again flow primarily to households already possessing greater income and assets?

2. EDUCATION: DECADES OF REFORM, BUT THE GAP REMAINS.

Ohio has spent decades debating school funding, charter schools, vouchers, testing and accountability.

Yet federal education data show that Ohio's Black-white fourth-grade reading score gap remained substantial.

In 2002, the gap was approximately 27 points.

In 2024, it was approximately 31 points.

The difference between those years was not statistically significant.

ACTON: Emphasizes public-school funding and educational resources.

RAMASWAMY: Emphasizes school choice, literacy and education reform.

THE QUESTION: What makes either approach capable of producing different outcomes from previous reforms?

Additional funding does not automatically guarantee stronger academic performance.

School choice does not automatically guarantee that every Black child receives a better education.

The results must be measured.

3. BLACK HOMEOWNERSHIP: RELIEF IS NOT THE SAME AS OWNERSHIP.

Both candidates discuss reducing housing-related costs.

ACTON: Proposes targeted property-tax relief for qualifying homeowners.

RAMASWAMY: Proposes broader property-tax reductions.

But lowering property taxes for existing homeowners does not automatically help a Black family qualify for its first mortgage.

THE QUESTION: Which proposals address down payments, mortgage access, housing supply, affordability and the barriers that have historically limited Black homeownership?

And will the policies narrow the Black-white homeownership gap?

4. BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES: OPPORTUNITY MUST BE MEASURABLE.

Ohio has operated minority-business assistance and contracting programs for years.

ACTON: Proposes targeted support, contracting opportunities and assistance for minority-owned businesses.

RAMASWAMY: Emphasizes lower taxes, reduced regulation and a stronger business environment.

But announcing a program is not the same as creating a successful business.

THE QUESTION: How many Black businesses will receive contracts or financing? How many will survive? How many will expand, hire workers and build lasting wealth?

Until we examine historical program results, neither approach should receive credit for outcomes that have not occurred.

5. HEALTHCARE: WILL BLACK HEALTH OUTCOMES IMPROVE?

ACTON: Proposes medical-debt relief, prescription-drug affordability measures and targeted maternal-health interventions.

RAMASWAMY: Emphasizes healthcare efficiency, cost controls and reducing waste.

These approaches address different parts of the healthcare system.

THE QUESTION: Which policies will measurably reduce medical debt, improve access to treatment and narrow racial disparities in maternal and infant health?

Savings on paper are not the same as healthier communities.

HERE IS WHAT THE BLACK WALL WANTS OHIOANS TO UNDERSTAND.

A tax cut is not automatically economic progress.

A larger education budget is not automatically educational improvement.

A school voucher is not automatically a better education.

A business incentive is not automatically Black wealth creation.

And a political promise is not a measurable result.

WE MUST STOP CONFUSING POLITICAL ACTIVITY WITH COMMUNITY PROGRESS.

Both candidates deserve the same examination.

What are they proposing?

Has Ohio tried something similar?

What happened?

Who benefited?

Who was left behind?

What would make this proposal produce a different outcome?

And most importantly:

WILL IT ACTUALLY NARROW THE DISPARITIES EXPERIENCED BY BLACK OHIOANS?

This is not about endorsing Amy Acton or Vivek Ramaswamy.

It is about evaluating policies against historical evidence, realistic implementation requirements and measurable community outcomes.

Supporting research: The tax figures come from Policy Matters Ohio and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy; the reading-gap comparison comes from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The housing, business and healthcare sections identify questions requiring further historical outcome research, not established findings that particular programs failed.