Sometime this fall - probably in October - the federal government will reach its borrowing limit and we are likely to witness another fierce debate about federal debt and deficit spending. Often in these debates, pundits and others make the claim that since households have to balance their budgets, the federal government should do the…
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Obamacare parties like it's 1989…the Republican Party, that is. You see, the premise of Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is that everyone should have access to health care, and to accomplish this it requires 1) that insurers offer coverage to anyone regardless of health status and 2) everyone be required to have health…
According to the WV Geological & Economic Survey, natural gas production doubled in West Virginia, from 265.2 billion cubic feet in 2010 to 538.7 billion cubic feet in 2012. As the chart below shows, this is the most natural gas West Virginia has ever produced. While there are no facts about the future, it…
The Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways has begun its series of public hearings on how to close the state''s funding gap for state roads and highways, after releasing a report earlier this year that said West Virginia needs an additional $600 million to $1.23 billion in new funding for its highway system. With that in mind,…
Last week, the U.S. House passed a "farm bill" that for the first time in decades did not include food assistance or SNAP (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) for vulnerable children and families. This move came on the heels of an earlier version passed by the U.S. House in June that reduced SNAP…
The Economic Policy Institute has updated its Family Budget Calculator for 2013. The Family Budget Calculator measures the income level necessary for families to secure an adequate but modest living standard by estimating community-specific costs of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, other necessities, and taxes. The calculator gives a broader measure of economic welfare than…
This afternoon, the Governor's Office sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) chief, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, regarding the Affordable Care Act in West Virginia. In the letter dated July 15, Governor Tomblin requests "prompt answers to several questions concerning implementation of the ." (See the letter here) The majority of…
How could West Virginia save hundreds of millions of dollars per year in healthcare costs? By getting more kids to graduate high school. Confused? Let me explain. Most people understand that health is much more than just medical care. A person's health is the result of a combination of a myriad of factors like genetics,…
West Virginia could gain $1.2 million in state and local tax revenue each year if Congress passes immigration reform, allowing undocumented immigrants now living in the United States to live here legally, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. While the likelihood of immigration reform is currently up in…
There's an interesting spin on Obamacare that has been going on in recent days as a result of several announcements out of Washington. First, the Treasury Department announced last week that it will delay enforcing the large-employer mandate for one year. Later, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will simplify the…