Releases from the U.S.Census Bureau this week on health insurance coverage and income and poverty levels show that it is not quite time to break out the leis and celebrate the state's economy. First, despite recent health coverage gains in the years following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, fewer West Virginians were covered by health insurance in 2017 than…
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Among our West Virginia hills, it's likely the most common questions heard upon entering someone's home are: "are you hungry?" and "would you like something to eat." Food bonds us and fuels us. It's engrained in our culture - from garden canning to church meals - making sure our neighbors have enough to eat is…
This week, Governor Justice held a press conference to announce much stronger than anticipated general revenue fund collections for the first two months of Fiscal Year 2019 - which began July 1, 2018. Altogether, revenues are $65.8 million or 11 percent above the revenue estimates. Approximately 92 percent of the current two-month surplus is due to sales ($16.1m), personal income ($14.3m), and severance taxes…
Julia Hamilton, Extended Day Director for Monongalia County Schools, penned this guest blog on how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps her students and why they can't afford cuts to the program. Congress returns to Washington this week, and members of the conference committee will debate the Senate and House versions to finalize the Farm Bill. One…
The Trump administration unveiled its replacement of the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan (CPP), the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. The goal of the CPP was to help curtail the harmful pollution caused by emissions from generation of electricity, particularly from coal-fired power plants, which is causing severe environmental and health problems throughout the world. While some view the…
The following blog penned by Ted Boettner, Executive Director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy and Dean Baker, a Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC. also appeared in the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Over the last few months there has been a flurry of op-eds and articles from big corporations and Republican lawmakersarguing that state…
West Virginia Community Engagement Program Manager Caitlin Sussman MSW, LGSW penned this guest blog for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy as part of its coalition efforts to protect and strengthen food assistance that is being threatened by the U.S. House Farm Bill. As a Social Worker at a free health clinic, I…
With half of 2018 already in the books, now would be a good as time as any to check in on West Virginia's economy and recent job growth. As of June 2018, West Virginia's total nonfarm employment stood at 751,000 jobs, with an unemployment rate of 5.3%. While the state had been adding jobs recently,…
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for states to collect sales taxes from online retailers that lack a “physical presence” in a state. This was a huge victory for state and local governments, local retailers, and tax fairness. This ruling overturned a famous prior Supreme Court decision that stopped states from collecting sales tax…
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has long been recognized for being one of the most effective policy tools encouraging work and reducing poverty. In addition to those benefits, the EITC is associated with healthier babies, better educational outcomes, and increased lifetime earnings. These benefits are the reason why a growing number of states (up…