A New Opportunity from the Right
- On Key Strategies
- Jan 16
- 5 min read
From the Other Side of the Table
Every once in a while, a policymaker says something that signals a real shift, not in ideology but in readiness. Senator Jon Husted’s op-ed on benefits cliffs is one of those moments. He is naming a structural barrier that has frustrated families and employers for years, and he is doing it in a way that invites problem-solving rather than posturing. When thoughtful leaders on the right start opening that door, advocates should be ready to walk through it.
When I saw Senator Husted’s piece, I read it through a very specific lens, not simply as a policy proposal but as a signal. Jon and I served together in the Ohio House and Senate, and we came up in a culture where you read the fine print, you did the work, and you kept families at the center.
So when someone with that background shines a light on benefits cliffs, I pay attention.
For years, advocates and practitioners have warned that our public benefit systems can unintentionally trap people in poverty. A small raise, sometimes just a dollar an hour, can result in a dramatic loss of support for food, housing, or child care. Families are left worse off for working more. Employers feel the consequences too when a good employee turns down extra hours or even a promotion because accepting it would cost her the child care benefit her family relies on. I have heard that story more than once from businesses trying to retain and advance their workforce.
In other words, the math does not add up for families or for the Ohio economy.
And let’s face it. Americans are workers. It is in our DNA. We are competitive. It is in our DNA. We are a country built on the belief that if you work hard and do the right things, your family should move forward, not fall off a cliff because the system was not designed with real life in mind.
What makes Senator Husted’s piece important is the way he names this problem. He is not simply identifying a flaw in the system. He is signaling a readiness for a different kind of policy conversation, one rooted in mobility, dignity, and the simple idea that work should always move people forward, not backward. That is precisely where opportunity lives.
From the other side of the table, I see a meaningful shift. Conservatives are increasingly willing to look at how the benefits system is structured rather than focusing only on the size of it.
This alone creates space for collaboration. In my years working inside and outside of government, I have learned that when conservative leaders start using words like mobility, workforce, and rewarding effort, they are opening the door to solving problems rather than simply describing them. They are signaling a willingness to rethink how government affects real people’s daily decisions.
And employers, especially in health care, early childhood, and the service sector, are desperate for workers. They will tell you themselves that their biggest recruitment challenge is not finding people who want to work. It is helping people navigate systems that punish them for earning slightly more. The Upward Mobility Act that Senator Husted is proposing reflects this reality. If we want people to climb the economic ladder, the rungs cannot disappear the moment they take a step up. It sounds simple, but this shift in mindset opens the door to meaningful policy innovation.
This is the moment when I hope advocates pause long enough to consider what is unfolding. It may not look like the solutions we have pursued before. It may not check every box or align perfectly with long-held preferences. But if we care about children, families, and long-term stability, then we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We have to stretch our thinking, exercise our problem-solving muscles, and look for the win-wins that move both a conservative policymaker and a struggling family forward at the same time. These openings do not come often. When they do, we should seize them.
There is one refinement I would add, and it comes from years of focused work on early childhood in Ohio. Yes, child care supports work. It is essential if we want parents to accept a job, take a promotion, or increase their hours without falling off a benefits cliff. But child care is not primarily a work support. For infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, child care is an early learning environment. It is the place where rapid brain development is happening every single day. High-quality early care is vital for kindergarten readiness, which is one of the strongest predictors of long-term school success, career success, and adult well-being. And here is the part many conservatives appreciate once they hear it. Kindergarten readiness is directly tied to our future workforce competitiveness. If we ignore the developmental side of child care, we weaken the very workforce we expect to compete globally ten to fifteen years from now.
If we design child care only as an employment subsidy, we will almost certainly underinvest in the quality, safety, and developmental supports young children need.
As states explore innovative approaches to benefits cliffs and work incentives, we must ensure that early childhood programs continue to be designed and funded as developmental investments in children, not solely as labor-market supports for adults. It is both, but its primary purpose cannot get lost.
This is where things get interesting. Business leaders want a stronger workforce. Parents want stability and a path upward. Policymakers want to reward work. Advocates want to ensure children have what they need to thrive. And now, with Senator Husted putting benefit cliffs squarely on the national stage, there is momentum to redesign systems in ways that serve all of these goals at once.
It has taken years to get to this moment, but moments like this do not last forever. If the right is leaning into real problem-solving rather than political positioning, then advocates should lean in too. The future of policy change will belong to the people and organizations willing to build bridges across ideology to get real results for families.
A benefits system that rewards work, preserves stability, and invests in early learning is not a partisan dream. It is simply good policy.
And Ohio is uniquely positioned to lead the way.
If you missed my completed From the Other Side of the Table series, the full archive is available on my Substack. The series examines how conservative policymakers assess information, make decisions, and respond to advocacy, and what that means for those working to advance policy for children and families.
— Shannon
