An anti-poverty organization says a UC Economics Center report shows it has generated $34.6 million in economic impact over its 20 year existence.
Cincinnati Works President Peggy Zink says the agency has helped more than 5,000 people find jobs.
"As they secure employment, they're paying taxes into the system," says Zink. "They're also contributing to the economy in their spending. But the big thing is they're also coming off the government supports, meaning the food stamps, the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) system, subsidized housing and those sorts of things."
Cincinnati Works reports nearly 500 of its clients got jobs last year - a hundred more than the year before - and is on track to increase that number by another hundred this year.
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon spoke at a luncheon marking Cincinnati Works' 20th anniversary.
He says lifting people out of poverty doesn't start with a free education; it should start with a solid one.
"Make it when they leave, they have a certificate that you hire them because you know they were properly trained and you were part of the training," says Dimon. "It's got to be done locally. It can't be done federal. The mayor here's got to do it. What does P&G need? What does GE need? What do you need? Who needs coding? Who needs accountants? Who needs (phlebotomists)? Then get the vocational schools, the community schools, and the high schools to do those things (so that) when these kids get out, they got a job."
During a fireside chat-style conversation led by Western & Southern CEO John Barret, Dimon touched on a wide range of economic topics including growth, the minimum wage, job creation, and the presidential election.
