Last week, Governor Tomblin announced that West Virginia would be expanding Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act. The decision came after a report issued by CCRC Actuaries estimated that expanding Medicaid would provide health insurance coverage to an estimated 91,000 West Virginians. Over the next ten years (2014 to 2023), the report estimates that…
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Last year, Ted showed, using ACS data, that income inequality was on the rise in West Virginia since 2006. But as it turns out, income inequality has been on the rise in West Virginia for almost 40 years. Mark Frank, an economist at Sam Houston State University, has used IRS records to put together state…
The federal government released data today showing the cost of procedures at hospitals in all 50 states that are paid by Medicare. See news stories here and here. As this Wonkblog graph highlights, the good news is that providers in West Virginia tend to charge less than most states on a number of inpatient procedures.…
Late last week, the governor vetoed several pieces of legislation. Meanwhile, for the first time in several years, he did not issue any budget vetoes. As Sean and I pointed out here, the governor in West Virginia has extraordinary power compared to other states. In fact, the people of the state grant West Virginia's governor…
It's become a part-time hobby of mine to debunk the various "business climate" indexes, showing that they have little to do with actual economic health and performance (see here, here, here, here, here, here and here). These indexes typically operate in an evidence free zone, invariably tell West Virginia that we need to cut taxes,…
On April 17, 2013, the West Virginia legislature passed the Fiscal Year 2014 budget. Only minor changes were made to Governor Tomblin’s $11.3 billion proposal, which was introduced at the start of the legislative session, with the final budget only $2.0 million smaller than the governor’s proposal, a reduction of 0.02 percent. The FY 2014…
As we stated last month, West Virginia, like most states, is finding it increasingly difficult to pay for construction of its road and bridges because its gas tax can't keep up with the growth of fuel-efficient vehicles and the increasing number of miles driven on state roads. And while a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax…
Yesterday, Sean showed that ranking well on the libertarian 50 State "Freedom" index doesn't mean your state performs better economically nor does it have any relation to low poverty or higher wages. While Sean looked at the numbers, I would like to talk about the qualitative side of the equation. What does the Mercatus Center…
Earlier this month, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University released the 3rd edition of the Freedom in the 50 States rankings, which measures fiscal, regulatory, and personal "freedom." The study shares some similarities with the previously discussed Economic Freedom Index, both in how it defines freedom, and its relationship with real world economic measures. Freedom…
Taxes are how we pay for the things we do together for our communities, our families, and our economy. Working together through government allows us to accomplish things that are vital to us in West Virginia and that we cannot do alone. Our roads allow us to get to work each day and they allow…