Blog

November 8, 2013 by WVCBP
If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It…Seriously

The news headlines have been dominated recently about people who have had their health insurance plans cancelled and opponents of the Affordable Care Act are using it to attack the law. Let's ignore the rhetoric for a moment though and take a look at the facts and what it means for us as West Virginians. Spoiler…

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November 5, 2013 by Sean O'Leary
Natural Gas Counties Reaping Property Tax Gains

West Virginia's booming natural gas production has led to more than just drilling jobs and severance taxes, it has also increased the state's property tax base. Since 2005, the total assessed value of property in the state has increased from $57.9 billion to $86.6 billion, an increase of 49.5%. And while the growth has been…

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October 31, 2013 by Ted Boettner
Bigger Middle Class Can Push Job Growth

According to a relatively new report from the WVU Bureau of Business & Economic Research, the Mountain State is predicted to see average annual job growth of just one percent over the next five years. While many may see this as positive news for the state - especially given the recent economic recession and austerity at the…

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October 28, 2013 by Sean O'Leary
Beating a Dead Horse: Sorry, but Tax Cuts Have Hurt the Budget

Members of the state's media have once again refused to accept that the state's recent series of tax cuts have directly lead to its ongoing budget problems. Last week Budget Office Director Mike McKown told legislators that the state budget faces an $80 million gap that will be need to be closed before the end of…

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October 25, 2013 by Sean O'Leary
November 1 SNAP Cuts Will Affect 350,000 in West Virginia

As Ted first pointed out back in August, the 2009 Recovery Act's temporary boost in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits ends on November 1, 2013, which will mean a benefit cut for each of the nearly 48 million SNAP recipients in the country, including 350,000 here in West Virginia. Without the Recovery Act's boost,…

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October 22, 2013 by Ted Boettner
The Missing Tax Cuts…The Source of State Budget Woes

Another day, another budget presentation that fails to mention the tax cuts that are at the heart of our state budget woes. According to the Gazette, the State Budget Director informed an interim committee that the current budget faces a $80 million shortfall and next year's budget will face a gap of $260 million. This…

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October 22, 2013 by WVCBP
Healthcare.gov is Dysfunctional. West Virginia Could Have Done it Better

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, State Decisions for Creating Health Insurance Marketplaces Almost all of the success in the Obamacare roll out to date has occurred in the dark blue states. Note, West Virginia is not dark blue. On the very same day that the federal government shutdown a few weeks ago, the Obamacare online Marketplace,…

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October 17, 2013 by Ted Boettner
Should West Virginia look to Virginia as a model for funding transportation?

The Charleston Gazette reported this morning that three West Virginia lawmakers are planning a trip to Richmond, Virginia to learn how they recently restructured funding for their ailing transportation system. According to a recent report by the Virginia-based Common Wealth Institute, there are several major flaws with the transportation funding package that was signed into…

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